Spokane Feasts On Sports Smorgasbord

Some said they wouldn’t budge from watching the Seattle Mariners try to stay alive in the American League Championship Series in exchange for the tipoff of an NBA preseason game at the new Arena.

In the end, their hopes were crushed when the Mariners lost to the Indians, 4-0, sending Cleveland into the World Series.

As a consolation, some of these fans went to watch the Seattle Sonics play the Utah Jazz in the Arena’s first-ever professional basketball game.

During the baseball game, fans at Spokane bars were fixated on television screens, cheering optimistically for the Mariners.

“With the Mariners in it, everybody’s a baseball fan,” said Beverly Anderson, a Spokane attorney who had tickets to the basketball game. “I don’t think anybody guessed the Mariners would go this far.”

She sat with friends in front of a big-screen TV at Double Dan’s. Anderson said she’d probably miss the first quarter of the basketball game to stay tuned to the Mariners.

Across the street at Charley’s, some Mutual of Omaha workers who had won free basketball tickets reserved a table to watch part of the Mariners’ game before going to the Arena.

Ron Halsted, said the basketball game would give him a chance to cheer for Jazz player John Stockton, formerly of Gonzaga Prep and Gonzaga University.

“We’ve got to cheer for Stockton,” Halsted said. “He’s the hometown hero.”

Tim Ayers, who stood with a friend near the door of the Viking bar, said he called the Arena to make sure there would be televisions tuned to the baseball game.

“We figured this would be the best week of our lives,” Ayers said. “We get to see the Jazz and Mariners play in one week. It doesn’t get much better than this.”

Mariners fans at the Viking cheered when Vince Coleman caught a flyball in the middle of the fifth inning to keep the game within reach at 1-0.

That’s when Ayers and his friend headed to the Arena to find their seats and a spot to watch television.

Before the basketball game, baseball fans watched the Mariners on the replay screen on the scoreboard and on televisions near concessions stands.

Don and Nancy Walker couldn’t imagine missing the baseball game to take their seats for the Sonics-Jazz game.

“As soon as it’s over, we’ll go sit down,” he said.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo