Gonzaga Dominates Evening WSU’s Sarah Silvernail Breaks Up Bulldogs’ Awards Banquet Monopoly
Except for the Ag Trade Center being filled with people, the guy from CBS sitting at the head table, and the prime rib laid out next to carrots that had been Ginsued beyond recognition, this could have been a Gonzaga University booster club meeting.
Because by the time the honors were dealt out at the 1996 Sports Awards Banquet on Wednesday, GU products had collected every award except for the Amateur Female Athlete of the Year, which Washington State volleyball player Sarah Silvernail collected.
Dan Fitzgerald (coach), Darin Blood (amateur male), John Stockton (pro athlete) and GU men’s basketball (team) waltzed away with the annual honors in their categories.
And for the eighth time, wise-cracking master of ceremonies Dennis Hull proved to be worth the $45 ticket.
Hull is quicker with the cuts and quips than he ever was with a slap shot during his NHL career.
He again established a rapid-fire pace that left the featured speaker helpless to maintain.
This time, it was CBS broadcaster Jim Nantz who was expected to anchor the event.
Nantz was earnest, engaging and well-spoken, but his material drew only courtesy chuckles in some instances. And a video clip that recounted the college days of Nantz and University of Houston roommates Fred Couples and Blaine McCallister - of the PGA Tour was only a baby-step ahead of your uncle’s summer-vacation slides.
Nantz, however, shared some interesting insights into the character of Stockton, with whom he became friends during Stockton’s rookie season with the Utah Jazz. And his praise of the values with which Stockton was raised sent a worthwhile message to all in attendance.
It was Hull, though, who started quickly and never looked back. It’s even excusable that several dozen of his thousand jokes are brought out and dusted off every year (“How’d you like to become Brett Hull’s aunt?” he offers each time an attractive female athlete appears at the head table).
Seattle Seahawks’ owner Ken Behring was an easy target for Hull: “That guy lies more than Mark Fuhrman,” and “He’s so slippery he has to sand himself down just to stay in bed at night.”
About Fitzgerald: “He’s a wonderful coach, he’s never lost a game in the Final Four.”
About Mead High coach Pat Tyson: “I hope your future’s as bright as your tie.”
About announcer Dick Wright: “He just joined Big Brothers. Every Sunday, some 80-year-old guy comes by and takes him for a walk.”
About GU’s Father Bernard Coughlin, who accepted an award for Stockton: “That’s the largest group he’s ever been in front of without taking a collection.”
That drew Coughlin back to the mike to offer: “Hey, we’ll pass (the plate) around.”
About Nantz: “He does the job of two people - Laurel and Hardy.” And, “He doesn’t smoke or drink, and there’s no evidence he ever took mind-expanding drugs.”
The banquet presented several poignant moments, too. When Steve Stockton accepted the pro athlete award for his brother John, he related that his famous sibling had passed on only one request: “Be sure to thank mom and dad.”
And when Fitzgerald accepted his coaching award - the last of the evening - he reached the verge of tears as he asked those in attendance to pray for his mother, who lies critically ill in a local hospital.
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 3 Color photos
MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: WINNER’S CIRCLE Winners from Wednesday’s 48th Sports Awards Banquet at the Ag Trade Center: Coach: Dan Fitzgerald, Gonzaga University basketball Pro athlete: John Stockton, Utah Jazz Amateur male: Darin Blood, Gonzaga baseball Amateur female: Sarah Silvernail, WSU volleyball Team: Gonzaga men’s basketball team