A Grip on Sports: Acting professionally can lead to success while the opposite is also true
A GRIP ON SPORTS • Even when as an amateur, we were admonished to “act professionally.” Whatever that means. Fight your teammates? Keep your emotions in check? Or just make a game-winning play?
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• There were a lot of examples from across the sports spectrum on Easter Sunday. The fighting thing came from the final day of the NBA’s regular season, in which there were three skirmishes that didn’t include anyone from another team.
The first occurred with Minnesota, as Rudy Gobert threw a punch at Kyle Anderson in the Timberwolves’ timeout huddle. That was bad enough to get Gobert, a max-contract player, sent home for the rest of the day. But the next altercation for the team caused even worse damage.
Their teammate, Jaden McDaniels, decided to fight a wall and, as is usually the case, the wall won. The former University of Washington player punched said wall just before halftime and reportedly broke his hand. Not good.
Nor was the pushing battle between L.A. Clippers players Mason Plumlee and Bones Hyland during the Clippers win over Phoenix that cliched Los Angeles the fifth seed in the West.
Talk about unprofessional conduct. Teammates disagree all the time. Conflict is expected. But when punches are thrown, at another teammate or inanimate objects, nothing good happens. Especially not as the playoffs loom.
Entertaining? In a slow-down-to-look-at-the-wreck kind of way. That, however, isn’t what any NBA team wants.
• Frustration and anger used to be two words closely associated with Jon Rahm. But that was years ago, when, as a young professional golfer from Spain via Arizona State, he would let normal golf stress, stress him in abnormal ways.
And cost him chances to win.
Rahm has changed. He’s gone from volcanic to rock-solid. And it showed this weekend in Augusta.
The world’s No. 1 player (or soon-to-be) opened the Masters with a four putt on his first hole. A younger Rahm might have stewed so long over it, he would have tightened up and found himself out of contention before his first birdie. Instead, Rahm channeled his inner Seve Ballesteros, recalled the Spanish great’s concise description of a similar situation – “I miss, I miss, I miss, I make” – and promptly refocused. A birdie on the second hole led to a round of 65 and a chance for his first green jacket.
He donned that coveted piece of apparel late Sunday afternoon after outdueling Brooks Kopeka over 30 rain-delayed holes yesterday. It was a master class in control one’s emotions. And a perfect example of how athletes can mature, channeling once-detrimental explosive passion into a powerful internal force, allowing them to succeed.
It isn’t easy. But it made Rahm’s walk up 18 Sunday, toting a four-shot lead, free and easy.
• The Mariners couldn’t succeed Sunday, though they had plenty of opportunities to finish off a series sweep in Cleveland. How many?
In the ninth, 10th, 11th and 12th innings, Seattle took a lead into the bottom half. Three outs and the M’s were headed to Chicago – they play the Cubs this week – with a winning streak and the season tiebreaker with the Guardians safely tucked away.
Instead, the bullpen – and rightfielder Teoscar Hernandez – couldn’t hold on and Cleveland prevailed 7-6. Crushing.
In last year’s playoff-drought-ending season, Seattle was remarkably successful on the mound. Every starting pitcher made every scheduled start. The bullpen featured guys having career years and a couple breakout stars. A reversion to the mean was not only possible, but expected.
It’s happening. Robbie Ray is injured. The bullpen is already beat up. And the M’s are struggling to gain traction. Ten games in the questions abound. The answers? We’ll have to wait on those.
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WSU: There is no bigger star in Pullman right now than Charlisse Leger-Walker. She’s quite possible the best-known athlete on campus. And the basketball star is also the best-known women’s player in her home country of New Zealand. Dave Cook delves into her popularity and how it has been built in this story. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and the country in football, the conference’s office is losing deputy commissioner Jamie Zaninovich, the one-time WCC commissioner and longtime Pac-12 administrator. … Oregon State has new leaders ready to assume a larger role. … Colorado has a player who has something in common with Sir Alexander Dane. They both are English. … Utah has a couple players new to the tight end position. … In women’s basketball news, one wonders which WNBA team will draft Stanford’s Hayley Jones? Maybe Seattle if she is still around for the ninth pick.
Gonzaga: Rui Hachimura looks ready to take a bigger role in the Lakers’ playoff games.
UFC: Spokane native Julianna Peña and UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes will square off – or is it octagon off? – for the third time this June.
Mariners: Scott Servais put the winning run on base intentionally and it was the right move. It’s just Penn Murfee’s pickoff move was the wrong one. His wild throw eventually led to Cleveland getting the win. … The bullpen will be without its best arm for a while. … We found this story, which has some good, if not all that original, thoughts on the evolution of baseball.
Sounders: Jordan Morris’ ascent as a goal-scoring striker is actually a return to his roots. And has helped Seattle find more scoring opportunities.
Storm: The WNBA draft is today. Seattle needs to find some stars to replace the longtime franchise faces who have either retired (Sue Bird) or moved on in free agency (Breanna Stewart). It won’t be easy.
Seahawks: Will Seattle really take Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson with the fifth pick or is it a smokescreen?
Kraken: The success has been built by many players having banner years.
Sea Dragons: The winning streak is over, victim of a home 34-33 loss to the D.C. Defenders.
Masters: Funny, over the past 10 years, the tournament’s winner has come out of the final two groups. But there is even more history showing holding the lead going into the final round stresses even the most-talented players. … Rahm’s win came on Ballesteros’ birthday and was 40 years after the Spanish legend’s second Augusta win.
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• We didn’t put any Easter eggs in yesterday’s column. We left one today for Galaxy Quest fans. If that’s you, we can be friends. Until later …