A Grip on Sports: If, after reading today’s column, you don’t say ‘you’re killing me, Smalls,’ then we failed

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Can it be 30 years already? Thirty years since Bennie, Smalls and Squints brought a long-gone brand of baseball to the big screen? It has. And much has changed since “The Sandlot” taught a new generation about PF Flyers.

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• We love anniversaries. Especially sports ones. And an anniversary for a whole generation’s favorite baseball movie, if that’s what it was, is worth celebrating once again. Sure, “The Sandlot” was released before for the 1993 baseball season and the 2023 pennant races are upon us. And, yes, it’s more of a coming-of-age movie than a true baseball one. Then again, “Field of Dreams” is more about the father-son relationship and “Bull Durham” is a love story, but who cares? We read another story about Benjamin Franklin Rodriguez and the gang this morning, so we decided to share. And to look what’s happened to baseball, and other sports, since.

• We’ll start with the Mariners. Back in 1993, they had yet to play in the postseason. Had never made the World Series … wait, they still haven’t. But two years after the Jet stole home, Seattle got to celebrate one of the best comebacks ever, coming from 13 games back in August to win the American League West and make the league championship series.

That story may just repeat again this year, if the hot streak continues. For the second time in a month, Seattle has won eight consecutive games after Tuesday night’s workmanlike 6-3 victory in Chicago. That’s good, right? The win, the second straight without the M’s own Jet, Julio Rodriguez, in the lineup, pulled them within 1.5 games of A.L. West-leading Texas. That’s the closest they’ve been since April.

It has their followers showing up – there seemed to be more Mariner jerseys in the crowd than White Sox ones last night – and dreaming of actually, you know, riding the hot streak all the way to the Series.

Go ahead. Dream. And, then like Squints and his future bride, make it happen.

• We checked. In 1993, there were actually 10 schools in the Big Ten. Eight in the Big 8 – and, yes, there was a Big 8. A Southwest Conference too. And a Big East with football teams. All of the schools in the Southeast Conference were, except for the always-been-an outlier Kentucky, south of the Mason-Dixon line. The Western Athletic Conference existed. So did a nine-school ACC.

A simpler time? Maybe not. The seeds of what we see today, the final steps, possibly, until college football’s Super Leagues (caps needed) are formed, were already planted.

They were sowed in 1984, according to those who were part of the seeding. And the main farmer was, if you hadn’t already guessed, an inept NCAA leadership.

That was the year college football’s main characters rebelled against the organization’s handling of TV contracts, sued and won before the Supreme Court. Oh, the CFA, as the big schools called themselves, tried to reach a compromise with Walter Byers and the NCAA, but nope, it wasn’t happening.

The Court set them free, everyone began selling themselves to the networks and here we are. In less than 40 years, twice that in tradition has been tossed away.

• We could ask what other traditions have disappeared since Smalls’ dad lost his Babe Ruth ball to The Beast but we won’t. Instead, what hasn’t disappeared?

• HBO is still making great sports documentaries. The network, which built a big part of its early schedule, and reputation, around boxing, boxes around the folks who foisted the fake high school Bishop Sycamore – ESPN, IMG and a scam artist named Roy Johnson – on us in the height of the Covid-19 era.

• No matter what conference their school plays in, college football coaches will always find a way to motivate their teams. Washington State’s Jake Dickert uses juice boxes – yes, juice boxes – to fire up and reward his squad.

­• Finally, because we’re running out of space here, we’ll circle back to the beginning. When rain interrupts your plans for a summer day, watching Benny pickle the Beast with your son or daughter is a tradition that should never go away.

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WSU: We mentioned Dickert’s juice box awards above. We wouldn’t have known about it if not for this Greg Woods story (and Tyler Tjomsland’s photos). Don’t miss it. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and the nation, we have a lot to pass along today. We start with Jon Wilner’s coaching host seat index in the Mercury News. Not surprisingly, considering what’s happening with realignment, most are really cool. … John Canzano checks in with the latest on realignment. … Hey, North Carolina’s revered women’s soccer coach, Anson Dorrance, said the quiet part out loud. … Despite the chaos, this could be a special season for the Pac-12. …. Washington was hit by a big injury this week and also lost its athletic director. Whoever is next in the AD chair has a lot to do. … Oregon State has decided Clemson transfer DJ Uiagalelei will start at quarterback. … Oregon welcomed back a key player to practice. … Colorado will try to stay on script in opener. … Cam Rising isn’t the only key Utah player still coming back from an injury. The injuries are the Utes’ biggest question marks. … Troy Taylor has lots of challenges with Stanford. … USC has always recruited far and wide. Now a freshman from far away has to help the Trojans in a big way. … Reggie Bush is going to sue the NCAA. … There is a lot UCLA has to accomplish if it wants to win the conference. … Arizona State has settled on its quarterback and it is a freshman that was in the news a lot last year. … Arizona has picked captains but not its starting middle linebacker. … In basketball news, Arizona used its walk-ons on its overseas trip.

Gonzaga: The men’s 2023-24 nonconference schedule hasn’t even been officially announced and we have a tease to pass along about the 2024-25 one. Both the Zags and Arizona will participate in the 2024 Battle 4 Atlantis. Theo Lawson has more while wondering if this could be the first time Mark Few and Tommy Lloyd face off.

EWU and Idaho: Around the Big Sky, UC Davis is well-stocked at receiver and tight end. … High school teammates stuck together to play at Northern Arizona.

Preps: Not all high school students head off to college right after graduation. Heck, not even all recruited football players. Liam Bradford has a story on Lakeland’s Ammon Munyer, who spent the past two year on his LDS mission. He’ll play for Weber State this fall.

Indians: Vancouver has the best record in the Northwest League this season. The Canadians showed why again Tuesday night, handing visiting Spokane a 2-1, 10-inning loss. Dave Nichols has the game story.

Seahawks: Rookie receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba broke a bone in his wrist and will be out a while following surgery. Pete Carroll shared that news and more after practice Tuesday. … He even touched on Jamal Adams and Jordyn Brooks. … And Devon Witherspoon.

Mariners: Tuesday’s 6-3 win included Bryan Woo pitching four innings coming off the injured list. Woo seems to be a prime candidate for the bullpen if and when the M’s make the postseason.

Storm: Despite Jewell Loyd setting a franchise scoring record for a season, Seattle lost again, this time to the Sky.

Golf: Wendy Ward has been knocking the golf ball into the cup for many years. Enough, in fact, she is eligible for the U.S. Senior Women’s Open. Jim Meehan caught up with the Edwall resident (and Manito teacher) before she plays this week.

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• Have we watched “The Sandlot” more than once this summer? Maybe. Until later …