A Grip on Sports: If there is one thing we learned about the Seahawks this week, it’s that they are confident of Sam Darnold in the driver’s seat
A GRIP ON SPORTS • Everyone hates being interrupted. It’s one thing I’m completely sure of these days. I see it every time the car fails to move after a signal turns green and a friendly horn reminder is greeted with an upraised finger. I can almost hear them yell, in a New York accent, “Hey, I’m texting here.”
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• That thought came to mind this morning when I decided to figuratively honk my Rav-4’s horn a little bit and shock you out of your contemplation of a Mariners’ season that seems to be stuck behind a Mack truck with one blown piston.
OK, so it was the guy behind me at the light yesterday. I was distraught by the image of blood pouring from George Kirby’s mouth. He reminded me that it was time to get going. Put the pedal to the metal. Or, at least, pull over someplace and begin ruminating on the Seahawks’ upcoming season.
After all, the team is deep in offseason workouts. There have been so many changes in preparation for Mike McDonald’s second season in charge. And, after all, they are part of the NFL, the Waymo of the sports world. Questions abound, sure, but the Hawks are never slow off the line.
Questions like who will start on the offensive line? How will the defense improve? Where do this year’s draft choices fit in?
Or my favorite recently, is Sam Darnold really the guy? Let’s ask McDonald. Wait, someone already did. In public. Well, on the public’s airwaves. He was asked that by on his weekly radio show with Mike Salk on Tuesday. And his answer?
“You guys are crazy,” McDonald said before adding, definitively, “Sam’s our starting quarterback.”
The last one is sealed in stone. The rest? They are not going to answered conclusively in OTAs or next week’s moved-up mandatory mini-camp or, maybe, even in training camp.
This is a team in a bit of flux, with a lot of it on offense (new coordinator, new quarterback, new receivers and the same old problems up front) and quite a bit less on defense (every late-season starter is back, though not every spot is guaranteed).
The final product? It should be, at the least, better than last season’s fair-to-middling group that barely missed the biggest green light of them all, the one to the playoff superhighway. If someone had honked their horn just a bit earlier, maybe the Hawks would have made it.
Remember that the next time the person in front of you seems to be typing out a three-screen-long text to their cousin about next year’s family reunion.
• Why is it high school track meets, especially championship ones, seem to attract controversy like your arms attract mosquitos this time of year?
There is a long tradition of such things popping up in the space going back decades. But recently even politics, and important political figures have become involved.
Not that I’m interested in that today. Nope. I want to pass along an old-fashioned, hey, you’re not supposed to have fun here, controversy. From California. Last weekend’s State meet, actually, one that started in a national spotlight, with rule changes and extra participants.
But the biggest noise this week comes from a winner’s celebration. Not during the race. Not on the podium. Not even on the track.
Clara Adams won the girls’ 400-meters. Went behind a wall and recreated a celebration first done by one the sports’ greats, Maurice Green, using a fire extinguisher to figuratively put out her blazing spikes.
And was disqualified.
Not only from the 400 meters, in which in her gold medal was stripped and awarded to the second-place finisher, but also from her upcoming 200-meter race. She was never even given the chance to see if her spikes had cooled.
Was the celebration a bit gauche? Over the top? Sure. Was it meant to embarrass anyone, to demean, to call out other competitors? Not by anyone’s account. It was done away from others. Yes, it was obviously planned. Maybe as a tribute to Greene, one of the best ever. And it should have been ignored.
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WSU: What did we say yesterday? And the day before that? Ya, that’s right. Recruiting never stops. Washington State continued its football roll with Hudson Kurland, a three-star quarterback recruit from Lake Oswego, Ore. Greg Woods has more in this story. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, Jon Wilner would like to see someone grill Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti, the main architect behind the proposed we-want-all-the-berths-before-the-season-begins changes to the CFP format. … The whole process has been flawed since the beginning. That’s not surprising. … The ACC and its two most prominent schools are no longer suing each other. … Christian Caple takes some time to examine Washington’s roster. My first thought? How many more changes before the season starts. … Boise State believes its success last year is a big reason why the CFP pairings were changed for the upcoming season. … Colorado almost missed out on Deion Sanders. … Just who is projected to do well this fall in the Mountain West? … In basketball news, Arizona State added a player and lost another. … Arizona said goodbye to an NBA hopeful. … In baseball news, Oregon State is happy to be in the Super Regionals. At home. Hosting Florida State. But, as John Canzano tells us, that’s not the ultimate goal. … At least the Beavers’ pitching has hit its stride at the right time. … So has an Arizona hitter.
Gonzaga: Ryan Nembhard is going through pre-draft workouts. Yesterday, he was in the Bay Area and spoke about his prospects, as well as his brother reaching the NBA finals. Theo Lawson covers that in this story as well as Ben Gregg going home to Portland for a pre-draft workout of his own.
Preps: No matter how old you get, you never stop following your high school’s sports teams. OK, maybe that’s just me. But when a freshman on my alma mater’s golf team shoots a 62 at Poppy Hills to win the State title, I have to acknowledge it. What a round by Jaden Soong.
Idaho: The Vandal women did this offseason what almost every college basketball team did, re-form its roster with transfers. Though coach Arthur Moreira seemed to do it better than most. Peter Harriman has this story on all the changes. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, for Montana State football, recruiting never stops. … A men’s basketball transfer feels playing for the Bobcats will develop his game. … The Big Sky champion Northern Arizona track teams will send nine athletes to the NCAA meets.
Indians: A three-run, seventh-inning Charlie Condon home run not only keyed Spokane’s 7-5 win over Hillsboro last night at Avista Stadium, it also propelled the Indians into a tie for first place. Dave Nichols has all that and a lot more in this game story.
Mariners: The M’s are no longer in first place in the American League West. And Kirby is still trying to find his form. All was evident after their 5-1 loss to the woeful Orioles at T-Mobile. … Is it possible the M’s make a trade before the deadline? … Which M’s should be All-Stars? … What are the plans for Harry Ford? … We linked Matt Calkins’ column about Randy Johnson yesterday in the Times. It is on the S-R site this morning.
Seahawks: We have a bunch of Hawk links above. Here’s one more. It poses another question.
Sounders: The Times’ story about the almost $20 million in Lumen Field improvements we linked yesterday? It ran in the S-R today.
Kraken: The NHL finals are about to start. Can Connor McDavid match his heroes and become a “revenge” star? … Seattle made a few moves and a signing this week.
Storm: Seattle had been struggling, losing its last three games. But Tuesday night, with Dallas visiting without its injured first-round pick, Paige Bueckers, the Storm picked up an 83-77 victory.
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• Let’s see. Kim is out of town, the dog is angry about that and has bugged me all morning. The cat showed her disgust at my presence by throwing up – more than once. It’s also trash day and I have to get everything out. Then there are my two commitments in the morning, another one in the early afternoon and a lawn that badly needs mowing. Meanwhile, as we were out of town, the wind must have blown like crazy because there are leaves and small branches everywhere. The car is filthy and must be washed. You know, this retirement thing isn’t what I expected. Until later …