Grip on Sports: Sundays are a great time to sit, watch and reflect
A GRIP ON SPORTS • We’ve got a lot to get to and only a little time, so let’s get right to it. There is golf’s first major of the year, a heartbreaking crash in Canada and the cold start to the baseball season, among other things. Read on.
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• There is a divide in our home. On one side is my eldest son, who isn’t all that interested in what happens in Augusta for one reason: Tiger Woods is not in contention.
He’s part of the generation excited by Tiger’s game, influenced by it, motivated by it. If Tiger is not playing well, then he’s not a fan.
Sitting in the other chair is yours truly. Yes, he knows the Masters would be more exciting, more attention-grabbing if a 42-year-old Tiger Woods was on the leaderboard, but that’s not a game changer. Not even a little bit.
What amazes him is the depth of golf talent on display. There are more good-to-great golfers playing the game these days than any time. Ever. The younger Grippi is probably right. That depth can be attributed to Tiger, who made golf seem accessible to more kids, who motivated them to focus on their fitness and their game and who still motivates them to improve to this day.
Not that it matters why. What matter is what they are doing. From Patrick Reed to Rory McIlroy through Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler, there are 14 guys on the leaderboard this morning that could shoot a 64 or 65 and win this thing. That’s impressive. And that’s Tiger’s legacy.
• It’s every parent’s nightmare. They put their child on a bus and away it goes. It’s not just a sports thing, but bus trips in sports are as common as offsides in a junior hockey game.
Such trips are especially worrying from about November to March as teams at all levels travel over miles and miles of slick roads to competitions. It’s somewhat surprising – and worth giving thanks about – what happened Friday in Saskatchewan, a bus crash that took 15 lives, doesn’t happen more often.
But once is enough. Too much actually. Those involved will never be the same. Neither will their families and loved ones.
Whitney Ogden talked with others who have ridden the same road or similar ones their entire career and they shared their thoughts. It’s not an easy subject to talk about, that’s for sure.
• It’s been an interesting series in Minneapolis for the Mariners. James Paxton was “visited” by an eagle – the bird type, not a Super Bowl winner – before the series opener, there was no game scheduled for the nicest day of the week, then the teams met yesterday on an Ice Bowl type of day.
Gene Warnick addressed the M’s week in an Out of Right Field column.
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WSU: Early scrimmages in spring, especially when the weather is as bad as it was yesterday in Pullman, can be tough on an offense looking to rebuild up front and at the quarterback position. So it’s probably not a surprise the defense dominated Saturday. Now, if it happens in the next scrimmage, it might be time to worry. … Cole Madison reportedly visited with the Seahawks this week. Theo Lawson has more on the offensive lineman’s pro prospects. … The Cougars had a visitor this week, a motivational speaker with a bit of a different message. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12, insight seems to be the word of the day in Tucson, with some gained on a former assistant basketball coach’s travels and other earned concerning the football program. … As we said, spring Saturdays are for scrimmages. Oregon held its in Portland, with the weather no longer a worry. … Utah’s offense dominated in the Utes’ scrimmage. … The quarterbacks did better in USC’s while UCLA is not even going to winnow down that position in the spring. … California wants to improve its defense. … Stanford has a new offensive line coach. … Washington has a new look at linebacker. … Oregon State will have a new rushing attack. … Colorado looked at different ways to deal with college athletics’ problems.
Gonzaga: The rain and lightning and hail and whatever held off long enough last night for the Bulldogs to win another WCC baseball game against Portland.
EWU: It is spring football season in Cheney as well. The Eagles are busy fine-tuning an offense that features nine returning starters. Jim Allen has that story.
Chiefs: Everett woke up Saturday night and blew out visiting Portland 6-0 to even the WHL second-round playoff series at one win each.
Mariners: It was cold yesterday in Minneapolis. And the M’s had a baseball game scheduled there. No worries. There is a new stadium. It is a dome, right? Nope, it isn’t. The old Metrodome, made famous in a couple World Series and “Little Big League,” is gone, replaced by an outdoor field. Target Field. It doesn’t even have a retractable roof. Not the smartest move ever. But the M’s and Twins played, and Seattle won, mainly due to its potent lineup. … Kyle Seager has 1,000 hits in his career. … It only seems as if Ariel Miranda has pitched 1,000 times the past couple years. The lefthander is becoming a security blanket for the team.
Seahawks: Not sure anyone will want to hear this, but Russell Wilson and the Hawks may not be together forever.
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• Who wins today? Will it be Reed, who is out in front? Or McIlroy, to complete the career Grand Slam? Or maybe someone from out of the pack, something that doesn’t happen all that often at Augusta anymore? We’ll watch and see. Until later …