A Grip on Sports: There are many things one can do to practice self-therapy, with some of them sports related

A GRIP ON SPORTS • It’s always good to anticipate the future. Even if the future almost always disappoints. Case in point, the M’s yesterday. Or the day before. Or the day before that. One thing we are anticipating today? When we are back to normal after an upcoming surgery. And can get back to doing what we love.

•••••••

• We took over a household chore after retirement, which preceded Kim’s by 10-plus years. We started doing the food shopping. Alone.

We discovered the joy of coupons, of sales, of lists and all the other tricks Kim used for years to stretch our less-than-plentiful dollars into less-than-plentiful dollars-and-a-half.

With our hernia growing more painful by the day, such valued chores as mowing the lawn have become so difficult, we’ve had to ask for relief. Kim stepped in from the bullpen yesterday. Took down the we-were-out-of-town growth, cleaned up the wind-blown debris and generally made our backyard livable again.

Us? We went back to the future, headed to Fred Meyer, paper list in hand and digital app set up on our iPhone.

You know, it was a joy to walk the aisles alone again. To pick up a red pepper and determine whether it was worth bringing home. To search for white American cheese at the best price. To open a container of eggs, checking the tops and bottoms to make sure everything was copacetic.

It’s a form of therapy, actually. Even if Friday’s 4-times gas points makes Freddie’s a crowded place.

But it also got us thinking. About self-therapy. And how sports have played a major role, or roles, in that during our life.

Our childhood home was always hectic in the morning, with our older sisters and mom always using those hours to scream out their issues. We had to hide somewhere, so we did it in plain sight. At the breakfast table, immersed in box scores.

We could tune out all the mid-life anger and teenage angst by examining Don Drysdale’s pitching line from the night before. Or checking to see if Tommy Davis had driven in a run. Or if his non-related name-twin in centerfield, Willie, had made an error. Time of game? Important. Attendance? Always worth knowing.

Early in the season we would perform mental gymnastics by determining averages – they were not part of the box scores in those days. We would also polish our math skills by figuring out ERAs in our head. It wasn’t the Pythagorean Theorem. It was a lot harder.

Then we would read Frank Finch’s L.A. Times’ game stories, Jim Murray’s columns and anything else was contained within the Times’ sports pages. Why? To avoid the conflict going on around us.

Playing the games were even more of a refuge – for the most part. When a 6-foot tall 12-year-old with iffy control was throwing from 46 feet away, physical therapy was more of an issue than the mental type. But just being on a field or court from ages 8-to-48 was always a way to clear our mind, distance ourselves from the chaotic world around us and enjoy two or three hours of easily definable goal setting.

There is so little gray in competing. It is black and white. Just like a newspaper-page reporting on the games. Of such things did we pass our formative years.

We still do, you know. Use sports as self-therapy. And we’re not just referring to vocally letting off steam after watching George Kirby leak a fastball out over the plate in a key situation.

We’re talking about this feature we bring you somewhere in the neighborhood of 350 times a year.

What better way is there to start every day than to get up with the sun and see who and what shined brightest the day before on the world’s fields, pitches, courts and, a sad truth these days, courtrooms? Then being able to digest the news, spin it around in our head, break it into digestible pieces and mix in our spicy thoughts. Some days we cook. Other days it feels as we are half-baked.

But it’s always calming. Therapeutic. A great way to start each day. Made better when we have the realization we bought a couple doughnuts at the store yesterday and, as soon as we are done, one of those miracles of modern cuisine will be waiting for us.

Unless the late-night food grazer who lives downstairs happened to find where we hid it.

•••

WSU: David Riley continues to add to the Cougars’ basketball roster, picking up a former Husky from the transfer portal Friday. Greg Woods has this story on Nate Calmese moving across the state. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and the nation, the conference recently didn’t have as big a revenue problem as it had a distribution and cost problem. Jon Wilner explains how the Pac-12 brought in almost a $100 million more in 2023 than the Big 12, but distributed almost $40 million less per school. … The last event in the history of the 12-team conference happens today in Scottsdale, where Arizona will face USC in the baseball tournament final. John Canzano wanted to be there to witness the historic – in a bad way – day. … The Trojans have won nine consecutive games, the most recent the semifinal win over California. … The Wildcats routed Stanford in the other semi. … Though Oregon State was eliminated in pool play, the Beavers still hope to host an NCAA regional. … Arizona State fans are not happy with the state of their beloved baseball program. … Wonder why Apple Cup tickets at Lumen Field this fall will cost so much? Here are the reasons. … Oregon State has a three-way battle brewing for the starting quarterback spot. One of those involved is former Idaho starter Gevani McCoy. … The Beavers will have a former college basketball player suiting up for football this fall. … Speaking of trying new things, Kyle Whittingham made his TikTok debut yesterday. It was hilarious. … Arizona picked up a veteran offensive lineman from the portal. … The NCAA softball tournament rolls on, with UCLA earning another College World Series berth by topping Georgia 6-1 and sweeping the Super Regional. … Stanford was routed at home by LSU, 11-1, and must win twice to head to Oklahoma City. … Oklahoma State shut out Arizona 8-0 in the first of three regional games. … The Washington program is being hit hard by portal defections. … Will USC’s JuJu Watkins learn from Caitlin Clark’s career and follow a similar path? … The NIL suit settlement terms have keyed new questions for places like Oregon State and Arizona. And spurred new commentary from folks such as former Utah athletic director Chris Hill. … Our last story comes from Tempe, where the Arizona State administration just forgave the athletic department’s $300 million debt. Poof, gone. Like Andy Dufresne. Huh. Wonder if Washington State will do the same? Actually, we don’t. The WSU athletic department will never be able to pay back to more than $100 million it owes to central campus. That debt will disappear someday too. Unless the entire department is sold to a private investment firm.

Gonzaga: Braeden Smith, a Seattle native and the Patriot League’s reigning player of the year, announced he will be in Spokane next season. ESPN’s Jeff Borzello also reported he will redshirt. Want more on Mark Few’s newest addition to a loaded roster? Theo Lawson adds it in this story. To paraphrase Tony Kornheiser, we believe we had that. … The women also added a transfer player yesterday. Vera Gunaydin, a 5-foot-9 guard from Turkey who played last season at South Georgia Tech College, a JC, is headed to the Zags. … Gonzaga’s baseball season is over, as the Bulldogs ran out of pitching at the WCC tournament after defeating Saint Mary’s 11-5 earlier Friday. Portland won 21-3 to move on to the title game against San Diego.

EWU and Idaho: Around the Big Sky (sort of), Northern Colorado’s baseball team started the season 0-21. But now the Bears, who compete in the Summit League in baseball, are in the tournament championship.

Preps: Greg Lee is in Tacoma covering the State big schools track meet. He has two roundups to pass along from Friday, one on the girls and another on the boys.

Indians: Ace Chase Dollander threw a career-high six innings and Spokane went on to cruise to a 9-2 win over Eugene in Oregon. Dave Nichols has this story as the Indians increased their lead over the Emeralds to 1½ games. … Elsewhere in the Northwest League, Tri-City got back to .500 by downing host Everett 9-4. … Visiting Vancouver defeated Hillsboro, 4-2, dropping the Hops back to .500.

Mariners: Is the lack of offense taking a toll on the starting pitching? Do the M’s starters, like Kirby, feel as if they have to throw a shutout to win? After Friday’s 6-1 loss to the Nationals, it is a legitimate question. … Andres Munoz has made it a priority to throw strikes. And to learn English. … Luis Urias was sent to Tacoma to get regular at-bats. Jonatan Clase was brought up again.

Reign: Seattle traveled across the country and struggled to repeat its season-opening performance against Washington. The Spirit earned a 3-2 win, though the match didn’t seem that tight.

Storm: After Clark’s visit to Seattle, one has to wonder if basketball in the city is about to take off again. … No one has to wonder if Nneka Ogwumike is as good as advertised. She is.

Sounders: Seattle has traveled to St. Louis for today’s match with St. Louis City FC.

Kraken: New York tied up the series with the Panthers yesterday, winning 2-1in overtime.

Indianapolis 500: There is a thing these days in which NASCAR drivers race at Indianapolis in the morning, fly to Charlotte and compete in the Coca-Cola 600 that night. Kyle Larson wants to do just that. But Sunday’s Indiana weather might not cooperate.

•••       

• We sort of went all James Joyce on you today. Put together a stream-of-consciousness-lite column. And like Leopold Bloom, we are not sure we got anywhere. Other than in our own mind. And into yours, if you shared any of the same experiences. Until later …