A Grip on Sports: The perfect day had us thinking about perfect sports photographs

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Yesterday was nearly perfect. Not sure how it was where you are, but in the Spokane area it was warm enough to do whatever you wanted outside but not so warm as to make you sweat. Then again, working up a sweat is a big aspect of sports, right?

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• This whole selfie thing has never hit with me. I’m not a big fan of photos of the guy whose name is on this column. Maybe it’s because all I ever see is my imperfections, of which there are too many to list. But I do have one photo, an old one, I really like.

It was taken by my friend Chris Anderson, a co-worker at the S-R who left full-time employment at the same time I did.

Chris is an outstanding sports photographer. Won many awards. But maybe his greatest accomplishment was a photo he took at the Bloomsday finish line in 1983. Why? Because it made me look somewhat decent after running the race for the first time.

Chris stuck his camera in my face just past the finish line. I was flush with exertion, having sprinted the final few yards trying unsuccessfully to break an hour. Or 90 minutes. Whatever. Hard to remember now.

The best part of the photo, however, is the unknown woman behind me. She was surprised, and a little annoyed, when I stopped suddenly as Chris popped up in front of me. Her expression is priceless. Then again, if I had been in her Nikes I might have added a middle-finger expression to my repertoire at the time.

All in all, though, it might have been the best sports photo I was ever a part of. That’s not saying as much as you might have thought.

We all have iconic sports photos we think of, don’t we? Neil Leifer’s shot of Muhammad Ali standing over Sonny Liston. Willie Mays catching Vic Wertz’s long fly ball in the 1954 World Series. Usain Bolt kissing the track after winning a gold medal. Dwight Clark and “The Catch.” Brandi Chastain celebrating. Vince Lombardi carried off the field. The images stay with us long after the events have faded into the past.

That’s also the case with our personal lives. When we play, there is often someone there with a camera – these days, maybe dozens of someones – recording the event for posterity. Even if the posterity is only future generations of your family.

How about you? Was your sporting life chronicled by someone? Did your mom – don’t forget to call her Sunday – snap pictures of you in your Little League uniform? With your dog Toodles on your lap? My mom did, and somehow seemed to capture everything good about youth baseball in one shot, including my lack of front teeth.

How about high school? Did the yearbook photographer catch you in some sort of candid pose? The one picture in ours my senior year was of me catching. It was from my best side. By that I mean it was from behind and I was fully encased in catching gear, so it was impossible to see my face. And if you think the yearbook editor threw away other pictures of me to make a point, you would be wrong. I was in charge of the sports section. Made all the choices, including the one to put a picture of a junior pitcher on the baseball cover – instead of one of the seven seniors who played. Hey, it was the best photograph.

That’s not the last time I made a decision with a sports photo that ticked people off.

Remember the magical 1983 Seahawks’ season? That was Chuck Knox’s first year and the Hawks made the AFC playoffs with a 9-7 record. They hosted Denver and won. They went to Miami and won. On Jan. 8, they traveled to Los Angeles to face the Raiders, a team they had defeated twice already, with a Super Bowl berth on the line.

The Spokesman-Review spent the money to send a photographer to the game. It was a big deal. And the guy in charge of putting together the Monday paper decided to use an Associated Press photo on the front page of the Sports section.

In my defense, it was the best picture. Steve Largent catching a pass over his shoulder with Lester Hayes hanging all over him. Great photo. But actually immaterial in a game the Hawks lost 30-14.

Live and learn.

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WSU: Reserve Daron Hansen has left the basketball team and will play his final year of college hoops at Seattle University. Theo Lawson has more on the forward’s transfer in this story. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12, Arizona finally has a 2021 committed football recruit. The school is the last in the conference to pick up one. … Why doesn’t Justin Herbert have a Nike contract yet? It does seem odd. … Is Arizona State a contender for the conference title? … If the college football season is delayed or canceled, the NFL may have to open its doors. … In basketball news, the NCAA will use the NET rankings for the women next year. … A former Colorado player has found a landing spot. … The NBA deadline hasn’t moved yet. And which players stay in could impact the conference race in a big way.

Gonzaga: Around the WCC, BYU’s new roster isn’t finished just yet.

Preps: My favorite story in today’s Sports section comes from Ryan Collingwood. He caught up with former Ferris High player and assistant coach Christy Martin, now the head coach at Division II Saint Martin’s. If you are wondering why it’s my favorite, it’s simple. Martin has been a longtime friend.

Golf: Washington’s courses opened yesterday after their long closure under the state’s quarantine rules. Kip Hill headed out to Esmeralda yesterday and has this story on the first day of play.

Seahawks: Greg Olsen was able to sign with the Hawks early. That’s helped the tight end in a lot of ways, most notably in getting to Seattle and getting started before the pandemic hit. … Cam Newton doesn’t seem to be a fit for the Seahawks. … Neither is Marshawn Lynch at this stage of his career. … But Jadeveon Clowney still might be right.

Sounders: Seattle is going to have to be creative with its workouts to not fall behind others in the MLS.

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• I looked and looked but couldn’t find the Largent picture from the playoff game years ago. But I did post the one my mom took of me. I’m lucky in this regard. She was notorious for putting her thumb over the lens. Filmed an entire Rose Parade with her thumb obscuring ¾ of the film. So the photo I have above is one of the few that was ever usable. … By the way, if you are a Spokane resident and watch SWX, you know Sam Adams. He’s leaving that role soon to take over the morning show. Rob Curley has an appreciation of Sam’s work in today’s paper. Until later …