Grip on Sports: From WSU to Seahawks and everywhere in between, we’re trying to link your world

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Have you ever moved from one place to another and decided this was a good time to re-invent your image? It’s a habit deeply ingrained in American history. Heck, Abe Lincoln’s dad tried it. Us? We’re staying exactly as we were, despite the new digs. Sorry. Read on.

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• What does that mean for you? If you haven’t read this column before, when it lived over on SportsLink Ave., you may not know. So we’ll take you on a quick tour.

Each day we begin with a column focusing on the day’s news. Sometimes it’s hyper-local. Other times there is a more of a national view. And, occasionally, we mix both.

But each day, after the paragraphs of opinion, fact and just plain stuff that smells a lot like the stuff ASU’s Todd Graham spoke about Saturday night, there are links galore.

Links to every sports story in The Spokesman-Review. Links to stories about local college teams and their opponents – current and future. Links to the region’s professional teams. If there is a subject you want to know about, more than likely you’ll find a link here.

I would also encourage you to follow me on Twitter – @vinceg55 – my preferred method of interacting on social media. I’m not an incessant tweeter, but I will let you know when this column is available and try to point out when there are fun – or stupid – items available on the interweb.

So there you have it. It’s what we do, seven days a week, about 350, 355 days a year.

• Speaking of Twitter, as the World Series drew nearer yesterday, there was a bit of a brouhaha. It began on Monday, when Washington State’s Mike Leach delved into his reasons for backing the Cleveland Indians. As is his wont, when talking about non-football items, Leach was expressive, funny and irreverent. (If you’re interested, you can see everything Leach had to say in Jacob Thorpe’s video.)

Anyhow, Leach’s comments were taken the right way by Cub fans. They started tweeting at him on their expensive computers or while driving their BMWs. Except, many of them were tweeting at the wrong Mike Leach.

There are at least two on Twitter, one of whom long-snapped for the Arizona Cardinals until he retired after last season.

I made a similar mistake years ago while first searching for the WSU coach’s Twitter account. But I found the long-snapping Leach to be a worthwhile follow and kept him in my timeline. And that decision paid dividends yesterday.

Early in the morning I noticed the long snapper – @MikeLeach82 – answering angry tweets from Cub fans with some smart-aleck answers. For example, one Cubbie aficionado tweeted “Best to not bring any unwanted attention to your lack of recent success … and your history of abusing players.” To which Leach responded: “ ‘Lack of recent success’? I made 4 birdies yesterday Justin. That’s success in my book.”

When you spend your professional career looking at the world upside down, you can develop a jaundiced view. And a great sense of humor.

By the way, of you want to follow WSU’s football coach, his Twitter handle is @Coach_Leach. He doesn’t tweet all that often. At least not as often as his Arizona counterpart.

• You watch the World Series opener last night? If you were looking for a Cub offensive explosion, you didn’t see it. The Indians shut them down. And won 6-0. Only three more wins to go for the team that lost won a championship in 1948.

But can the Indians use the same formula for three more wins? By that I mean milking Andrew Miller, their closer down the stretch, for nearly 50 pitches in the late innings.

Miller’s role this postseason has changed, mirroring former Yankee Joe Page back in the decade the Indians last won a title. Page would come out of Casey Stengel’s bullpen at anytime, throw a bunch of pitches, shut people down and then do it all again the next day.

In the 1947 and 1949 World Series, both won by the Yankees over the Brooklyn Dodgers, Page was Stengel’s Swiss Army knife. He threw 13 innings in 1947 (four games) and nine more in ’49 (three games). He also had two wins and two saves in that time. He was the hero of Broadway and Times Square.

And one more thing. The way Stengel used him from 1947 through 1949 – Page finished 130 regular season games in those years – denuded his arm. After a terrible 1950, Page’s career was basically over.

But the Yankees had won two titles. For their fans, it was worth it. For Page, I’m not so sure.

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• WSU: Jacob’s Washington State report today spreads from Southern California – his Pac-12 notebook touches on a recent WSU commitment – to Utah – where Washington and the Utes play the biggest conference game thus far. Jacob also ranks the Pac-12’s teams as well as passing along the Cougars’ game notes for Saturday’s trip to Oregon State. … The Beavers have been pretty beat up but they expect to get a couple players back for Saturday.

Elsewhere in the Pac-12, Luke Falk is doing just fine in ESPN.com’s conference quarterback rankings. … As Jacob mentioned, the big game this weekend is in Salt Lake City, when the Utes, with their revitalized running game, will try to upset the fourth-ranked Huskies. It’s can’t miss TV. … The first game this weekend is tomorrow night in Los Angeles, with USC trying to keep its long winning streak against California intact. … Arizona has been struggling with injuries in the offensive backfield but may just be a bit healthier when it hosts Stanford. The Cardinal are making a change at quarterback. … Maybe it isn’t just Leach who believes Arizona State does something fishy with its sign stealing. Oregon seems to be a bit worried as well. … Colorado and UCLA have byes this week.

• Gonzaga: The WCC has a couple of major challengers this season to GU, though one of them, BYU, is dealing with injuries right now.

• EWU: There is always motivation when Eastern and Montana meet, no matter the records. Jim Allen delves into that subject today. … Around the Big Sky, the Griz will have to forget last week’s loss at NAU before they head to Cheney. … Cal Poly feels confident headed down the stretch. … The playoffs are in the picture for North Dakota. … Northern Colorado is doing a better job in the passing game. … Southern Utah is trying to learn from its recent collapse.

• Idaho: There is a pretty decent chance the Vandals will host the Big Sky Conference soccer tournament. Jim Allen has that and more in his college soccer notebook.

• Chiefs: A three-goal explosion early in the second period lifted Spokane to a 6-2 road win over Moose Jaw last night. … Tri-City handed Portland its third consecutive defeat. … Everett’s goalie has a few things to say.

• Preps: Greg Lee’s feature on East Valley’s Rodrick Jackson and coach Adam Fisher’s family helped the relationship reach a national audience recently. Greg has a follow up on the story. … The Washington volleyball polls are out and we can also pass along a roundup of Tuesday’s prep action.

• Seahawks: Before we get to the action on the football field, we have to pass along the biggest story of them all: Russell Wilson and Ciara are having a baby. Carry on. … Kam Chancellor was out, injured. So his replacement, Kelcie McCray, seemingly never left the field. … The Hawks need a left tackle. There are a couple high-priced ones available on the trade market. If Seattle pulls the trigger on a trade, it would be out of character. … As per usual, there was a roster move yesterday.

• Sounders: One-and-done. That will happen to either Seattle or Sporting Kansas City on Thursday night. But it’s the postseason, so the Sounders want us to throw out the regular season results. OK. … Real Salt Lake and the L.A. Galaxy have a knockout match tonight in Los Angeles. Hundreds are expected to attend. … The Portland Timbers didn’t make the playoffs. And now, well, this isn’t good.

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• Our last item today deals with Chris Hansen and his offer yesterday to pay for Seattle’s newest sports venue using only private funds. Some feel this is a game-changer in the city’s long-running attempt to revive the Sonics. Others aren’t so sure. It just seems like Seattle’s version of the North/South Freeway to me. Until later …