Grip on Sports: When out of options, the best one is to watch the Sounders find a new way to lose
A GRIP ON SPORTS • What’s a sports fan supposed to do on a late April Sunday with limited television viewing options? Improvise. Read on.
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• Not being at home, where the Comcast bill is heavy and the sports viewing plentiful, finding what we wanted to watch this weekend was an adventure.
One of the hotels I spent time at didn’t have Root sports, despite still being in what the Mariners believe is their prime viewing territory. So we were forced to trudge off to a wing restaurant with 172 TVs and sit in the bar to watch the action. What an imposition.
Sunday was a bit different as we were unable to break free during the M’s second consecutive rout of the Indians. And, after a pleasant dinner with old friends, the sound track of which, in a nice way, could have been Bruce Springsteen’s “Glory Days,” we settled in at our hotel, trying to find some sports to watch.
The Sunday night baseball game was a rout, so we kept looking. And ended up watching the Sounders.
Watching soccer, for me, is a bit like eating at Denny’s. I never plan to go there, but if that’s where I end up because everywhere else is closed, I’m always somewhat surprised.
Seattle was playing the first match in LAFC’s new stadium and the place was loud, raucous and insane. The soccer, on the other hand, was a bit like a scene from a 14-hour-long Russian film – and that was mainly on the Sounders.
I admit, I came in late. But the final 30 minutes or so seemed as if Seattle was settling for a draw. Hoping for one really. Why try for three points when one is so tantalizingly close?
Because nothing is guaranteed in sports. Not even a Stefan Frei stop on a ball in extra time that hits him in the hands. Playing it safe didn’t work last night thanks to Laurent Ciman’s late goal.
But is this where a once-proud franchise has fallen? The Sounders, since the beginning of the Clint Dempsey era, have played fun, aggressive, physical soccer. And it’s paid off with an MLS Cup title, a runner-up finish and faithful, if demanding, fans.
Not this year though. The fans are still faithful and seemingly more demanding. The rest of the previous paragraph, however, seems outdated. The soccer isn’t fun, it isn’t exciting and it isn’t successful.
It still too early in the interminably long MLS schedule to panic and make wholesale changes. But that point isn’t too far away. Unless, of course, the Mariners continue their winning ways, turn the spotlight up to 11 and overshadow everything else in Seattle.
Ya. That’s going to happen.
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WSU: The Cougars split Sunday’s doubleheader at Washington, but the Huskies won the series. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12, there is still some football news, with California’s search for a starting quarterback not done just yet. … The Pac-12’s stock in the NFL draft wasn’t stellar. … There will be new faces to cheer next year.
Gonzaga: The Zags sat through a long rain delay, but that’s always OK, when the result is an 11-1 series-clinching win. That’s what happened yesterday. Justin Reed has the story.
Chiefs: The WHL Western Conference final series is getting interesting.
Mariners: I didn’t see Gene Warwick’s Out of Right Field column from Sunday about Ichiro, but I’m passing it along today. … The M’s offense was hot again Sunday in a 10-4 win at Cleveland. Their record at the end of April is the best since 2009. … Shohei Otani will start in Seattle. When, or if, Hisashi Iwakuma will pitch again is anyone’s guess.
Seahawks: The Hawks traded up to draft a punter. But he’s no ordinary punter. … Jon Ryan is probably looking over his shoulder, just like some other Hawks. … One thing John Schneider says he likes is players with a chip on their shoulders. … If the NFL screwed up a 40 time at the combine and didn’t tell anyone, can you trust anything that comes out of that made-for-television event?
Sounders: The late goal was as shocking for Frei’s mishandling of it as it was for the flop and whistle that sat it up. … The new stadium in Los Angeles is beautiful but the camera spots are not very good.
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• It’s always fun to connect with old friends you’ve spent some of the best days of your life with. And a bit sad as well. Those days are never coming back. Hopefully, the ones ahead will be just as good. And spent with the same folks. Until later …