Mike Sando

Thanks to the discerning eye of an Odessa grandmother, 8-year-old Brady Miletich is heading to Philadelphia, where he'll eat Honey Frosted Wheaties with Ken Griffey Jr. and attend baseball's All-Star Game. Miletich, who lives in Vancouver, Wash., was among five winners of the national "Ken Griffey Jr. Honey Frosted Wheaties Sweetest Swing in Baseball Contest." The contest asked kids to send in a video or photo of themselves swinging a bat, with winners selected by hitting coaches.

1. Melvin Douglas celebrates win - and Olympic berth - over dejected Mike Van Arsdale. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review 2. Kendall Cross, right, faced up to Terry Brands' challenge during Saturday night's finals. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

1. U.S. Wrestling director Jim Scherr, right, fails to score against Kevin Jackson in the 180.5-pound semifinals. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review 2. Dan St. John is consoled by a coach after a quick semifinal defeat. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review 3. John Fisher is on top of matters as he works over Troy Steiner on way to victory in semifinals. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

Oregon State's Les Gutches is hoping another freestyle victory celebration is in his immediate future. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

Tom Erickson has seen anough of second. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

1. Kenny Monday, taking down Dan St. John during national championships, misses his murdered rival, Dave Schultz. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review 2. Kenny Monday, U.S. wrestler

"Happy birthday," some shouted. "Merry Christmas," others yelled. "Hope you like the gift," yet another offered. The sarcasm was hitting Rowdy Welch from every angle Saturday night, much as Marco Agosto Ramirez had moments earlier in the sixth round of their scheduled 10-round junior middleweight bout at the Spokane Interstate Fairgrounds.

Rowdy Welch is working on a comeback with his second fight this year on Saturday. Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review

Mark Hendrickson's next move should be to the NBA draft, where many project him to be a first-round pick. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review

The most volatile weight class in American freestyle wrestling became even more tempestuous over the weekend, providing several subplots as Spokane prepares to hold the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in June. Even before the weekend's U.S. Nationals here, there wasn't a classification quite like 180.5 pounds, which claims 1992 Olympic gold medalist Kevin Jackson, backto-back NCAA titlist Les Gutches, two-time World champion Royce Alger and USA Wrestling executive director Jim Scherr. Gutches had been 0-for-3 against Jackson, but the senior from Oregon State pulled off a 5-2 overtime decision in the title match Saturday night. The outcome left Jackson vowing to "get" his upstart rival when the Trials come to the Arena the weekend of June 7-8. Scherr, meanwhile, had drawn criticism from many wrestlers - Jackson, in particular - for launching a comeback without stepping down as director. Jackson's frustration crested during a 4-0 victory over Scherr early Saturday, when Jackson, 31, used a break in the action to rock the 36-year-old Scherr with a two-handed shove to the chest. "I was just trying to set the tone right off the bat," Jackson explained. "This isn't fun and games out here." Scherr downplayed the rift. "I was just flat," he said. "That's it." Gutches, Jackson and Scherr will renew their drama at the Trials, which take the top six placers from Nationals, in addition to winners from the five regional tournaments. Scherr won the Northeast Regional. Schultz honored Saturday night's finals began with a tribute to former Olympic champion Dave Schultz, who was murdered in January, allegedly by USA Wrestling benefactor John E. du Pont. Schultz, 36, had been training to defend his 1995 national 163-pound title when he was gunned down outside du Pont's expansive training center. Nancy Schultz, the wrestler's widow, brought the couple's two small children to Las Vegas. "It's still a struggle, but I think being here helps, rather than making me sadder," Nancy Schultz said at a press conference Thursday. "It's less of a struggle here because I have the support. It brings me a lot of happiness and I hope it does them, too." Friends of the 1984 Olympic champion wore T-shirts with the late wrestler's likeness on the front. The back read, simply, " . . . the legend lives on." , Second to one Two-time Olympic heavyweight champion Bruce Baumgartner continued his mastery of Tom Erikson, beating his toughest American competitor for the eighth time in a national title match. The 36-year-old Baumgartner, a 15-time national champ, handled the 31-year-old Erikson 2-0 in their latest battle. "They're both great athletes," said Olympic freestyle coach Joe Seay, who coached Erikson at Oklahoma State. "Tom just has this psychological block against Bruce."

Les Gutches felt ill before Saturday night's title match. Kevin Jackson was feeling the pain afterward. Gutches, the 23-year-old reigning NCAA wrestling champion from Oregon State, fought off a week's worth of sickness to win the 180.5-pound freestyle title at Saturday night's U.S. Nationals, beating Jackson, 31, the reigning Olympic titlist, before 3,567 in the Convention Center. With his 5-2 overtime win, Gutches became one of 10 wrestlers to earn top seeding for the U.S. Olympic Trials, to be held June 7-8 in Spokane.

Jim Scherr, the 36-year-old executive director for USA Wrestling, was designated Thursday as the fifth seed at 180.5 pounds for the U.S. Nationals tournament that begins this morning at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Scherr, a former Olympian at 198 pounds, has taken leave as executive director to resume his wrestling career. As champion of one of five regional tournaments, Scherr has already qualified for the Final U.S. Olympic Freestyle Trials, to be held June 7-8 in Spokane. Scherr is considered a longshot to win a national title this weekend, however, competing in a weight class that includes 1992 Olympic gold medalist Kevin Jackson and Oregon State senior Les Gutches. Jackson and Gutches are seeded first and second, respectively. Thursday's seeding produced no major surprises - as expected, other top seeds included heavyweight Bruce Baumgartner and 114.5-pounder Zeke Jones. Former Olympic champion Kenny Monday is making a comeback and was seeded third at 163, while third-ranked 136.5-pounder Cary Kolat failed to make weight and was seeded 14th at 149.5. The top six national freestyle finishers in each weight class qualify for the trials, as do five regional winners in each class. In addition, notable wrestlers can petition for inclusion.

Starter Ryan Leaf, left, and backup Steve Birnbaum work hand-in-hand at the quarterback position. Photo by Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review

Scherr

Ellison

Quarterback Steve Birnbaum (13) and the WSU offense begin to turn the corner, managing four touchdowns after going scoreless in a scrimmage last week. Photo by Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review

Washington State coach Mike Price turned 50 on Saturday and ate chocolate birthday cake at the 50-yard line in Martin Stadium, shortly after the Cougars' first spring football scrimmage. A gift, in the form of 6-foot-6 starting quarterback Ryan Leaf, is expected to await Price when the coach returns to practice next week.

Darkness was settling on Martin Stadium shortly after Washington State's first spring football practice of 1996, and the three backups to the backup quarterback were fielding questions as if they were accustomed to the attention. "I gotta get outta here, so I'll go first," offered one, sounding more like an old pro than a walk-on named Josh Lucca.

Washington State University, with a football program that claims National Football League millionaires Drew Bledsoe and Mark Rypien, may more closely resemble "Quarterback Who?" than "Quarterback U." when spring practices start Monday. Ryan Leaf, the returning starter, is serving a DWI-induced suspension while recovering from off-season shoulder surgery. Former starter Chad Davis quit the team after being supplanted by Leaf. Shawn Deeds ran out of eligibility. That left head coach Mike Price with one available quarterback, redshirt freshman Steve Birnbaum, heading into Monday's 3:30 p.m. practice.

The 97-day root canal has ended. Now the Eastern Washington men's basketball program can try to learn how to smile again. And while Saturday afternoon's 92-64 Reese Court drilling by Montana State was without the benefit of anesthetics, it mercifully ended the worst season in EWU history and what first-year coach Steve Aggers termed the most trying three months - or was it three decades? - of his professional existence. It also marked the beginning of Aggers' first full off-season in Cheney. He promised change.

A master at stealing from the poor and giving to the rich, Shane Belnap is no Robin Hood. The Montana point guard robbed destitute Eastern Washington seven times Thursday night, setting a career high for steals as the Grizzlies defeated the last-place Eagles 76-69 before 1,484 in Reese Court to stay in the Big Sky Conference's most exclusive tax bracket.

Mark Hendrickson pulverized Stanford inside and Isaac Fontaine made the pivotal 3-pointer, but it may have been two players with lower profiles who kept Washington State's postseason hopes alive Thursday night. WSU guards Shamon Antrum and Donminic Ellison contained the Cardinal's accomplished backcourt, allowing the Cougars to dance out of Maples Pavilion with a 68-59 men's basketball victory that moved them within a game of fifth place in the tightly contested Pacific-10 Conference.

Eastern Washington suffered its third straight excruciating defeat Saturday night, a 70-65 overtime loss to Boise State, but refused to surrender the spirit that has kept the Big Sky's least successful basketball team from giving up without a fight. Showing reserves of resolve after enduring consecutive one-point, lose-from-ahead outings against Montana and Idaho State, EWU played its most inspired basketball of the season in taking a 33-19 halftime lead Saturday night in Reese Court. Then Mike Tolman showed up. The BSU forward, held scoreless in the first half, shot the first-place Broncos (12-9 overall, 8-1 Big Sky) into overtime with five secondhalf 3-pointers, then finished the job with a pair of 3s that knocked out EWU (2-18, 0-9) in OT.

Like a debilitating hangover, Eastern Washington's losing mentality can apparently be overcome only with time - although a couple of Melvin Lewis free throws certainly wouldn't have hurt Friday night. After expending tremendous energy to overcome a lethargic start against Idaho State University, the Eagles did just enough to ensure their 19th consecutive Division I men's basketball defeat, a 56-55 heartbreaker that sunk EWU to 0-8 in the Big Sky Conference and 2-17 overall.