A Grip on Sports: Can the weekend get here quickly please?
A GRIP ON SPORTS • Another week of work begins. And it will probably take forever to finish. Anticipation of the weekend makes Monday through Friday move all that much slower.
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• Let’s see how it works around here. The upcoming weekend is filled with Hoopfest, which is not only a sports event, but as the picture on the top of this column show, is a family bonding one as well. A bunch of people, from 5 to 95, filling our downtown streets with basketballs. And fun. Darn, it’s hard to wait for the best weekend of the year.
Next week includes July 4th, another celebration. This one is a little less sports oriented, though I understand James Madison was incredible with a mashie in his hands, but still worthy of a mention nonetheless.
After that? Weeks and weeks of summer, with the possibilities endless as the days are long.
Shoot hoops in the park with your son before going to work in the morning? It’s possible. A round of golf after work with your husband? Yep, can happen. Have a catch – thanks “Field of Dreams” for putting that phrase in my head – with your daughter at 8:30? Sure.
It will be warm enough. It will be light enough. It will be summer and it’s all possible.
• Of course, when July ends, August is here. It’s still summer, sure, but it’s also the month school either starts are it looms so intently as to ruin a child’s plans.
If you are in high school, fall sports actually begin in mid-August, so that’s when summer unofficially ends. Any school-related activity means school is underway. Hey, I don’t make the rules. I just enforce them.
No worries, though. There are seemingly unlimited days between now and then. Plenty of time to catch a fish, ride the bike to Greenbluff, sit in the backyard and count the clouds.
And get your summer reading done. May I suggest picking a few sports-related books and continue your education without even knowing it?
For those of you over the age of 16 or so, take some time this summer and read (or re-read) “Ball Four.” It is the 50th anniversary of the Seattle Pilots’ lone season in Seattle, which was the year Jim Bouton based his book, so why not?
Or check out “Dead Solid Perfect” or “Semi-Tough.” Dan Jenkins recently died, so it’s a perfect summer to laugh your way through any of his sports-related novels.
George Plimpton isn’t with us anymore, so reading one of his books would be worthwhile too. Everyone picks up “Paper Lion” as a first resort, but I would recommend “Mad Ducks and Bears” if you can find it. It’s funnier and a better insight into how professional athletes deal with everything from pain to finances.
John Feinstein is still around and still churning out books related to sports. For summertime, a book about golf seems appropriate, so grab “A Good Walk Spoiled.” It won’t ruin your day. Promise.
My favorite fictional baseball book has always been “The Southpaw,” a novel by Mark Harris, who also wrote “Bang the Drum Slowly,” both part of a trilogy of novels about fictional lefthander Henry Wiggen. The books are old but they’re still relevant.
• Our final note this morning concerns a column in the S-R from editor Rob Curley. It’s about Spokane’s love affair with basketball and where that romance should lead.
With Hoopfest on the horizon, it’s as good a time as any to put the focus on the community’s relationship with basketball.
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Gonzaga: There are players in the NCAA’s transfer portal that have earned more publicity, but North Texas State’s Ryan Woolridge may just be the grad transfer with the biggest impact. And he announced yesterday he will be at Gonzaga next season. Jim Meehan introduces you to the newest Zag, and quite possibly the Zags’ newest impact point guard.
WSU: Around the Pac-12, will there be more changes to conference landscape? … Oregon received a late commitment from a 6-foot-9 freshman who will be eligible next season. … How will the Oregon State defensive line be next year?
EWU: The latest Eastern Eagle-turned-Los Angeles Ram to be featured in Ryan Collingwood’s 175-part series is Samson Ebukam. (We joke. The series isn’t that long. Yet.) Ryan has Ebukam’s story in today’s paper.
NIC: Former wrestling coach Pat Whitcomb has taken the first step toward suing the school for his dismissal. Thomas Clouse has the story.
Indians: Another game, another win. Spokane just keeps on rolling. Sunday the Indians had Kenen Irizarry to thank for the 9-1 victory over Boise. And we have Dave Nichols to thank for the game coverage. … Around the Northwest League,
Mariners: Thank goodness for the Orioles. (Though, when the baseball draft comes around next year, we all may be cursing the Orioles. And the Royals. And the Blue Jays. And the Marlins. And the Tigers.) The M’s picked up another win against them yesterday. … The bullpen was retooled once more. … Gene Warnick has another Out of Right Field recap.
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• If you are looking for a reading list of sports books, this one from Men’s Journal is about as in-depth as it gets. I can’t say I have read every book listed, but I have gotten through a few. And learned something from each one. For many years, my mantra came from the last line of “Bang the Drum Slowly:” “From here on in, I rag nobody.” To this day just thinking about it can make me verklempt, a word I learned from another book on the list. Until later …