A Grip on Sports: If you can sit through all the sports on TV this weekend, you deserve some sort of Coach Potato Trophy

A GRIP ON SPORTS • You know, it won’t be a half-bad weekend. At least where I live. After all, Spokane will be sun-drenched. The high temps won’t exceed 80. The TV will be filled with championships. And one battle-tested champion.

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• The latter will be figured out Sunday evening, as long as the weather in Pennsylvania cooperates. Someone will win the U.S. Open Golf Championship trophy, named after … well, no one. It’s not the Claret Jug or Lord Stanley’s Cup or even the Nicklaus Award. It’s just the U.S. Open Championship Trophy.

How traditional of the USGA. And appropriate. You slog through the rough, survive the expressway-fast greens and show steely nerves down the stretch and you get to hoist, what, Tiger’s Trophy? Or Bobby Jones’? Or Ben Hogan’s?  

Actually, yes. You get to hold (and keep for one year) the same trophy Jack won. Ben. Bobby. Eldrick. Willie Anderson. Hale Irwin. Heck, even Willie Macfarlane, the Scotsman who won the thing 100 years ago, finishing seven-over par at Massachusetts’ Worcester Country Club.

That’s enough. After all, anyone who wins this week deserves all the accolades. As does anyone who watches all weekend. There is streaming coverage on NBC-owned Peacock pretty much any time as well as the over-the-air NBC coverage starting at 10 a.m. Friday, 9 a.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. Sunday, which also happens to be Father’s Day.

The other championships?

The NBA finals are back tonight, with Indiana trying to build a 3-1 lead at home. The matchup with Oklahoma City begins at 5:30 on ABC. The NHL returns Saturday (5 p.m., TNT), though the winner of Lord Stanley’s bauble won’t be determined that night. Thanks to Edmonton’s overtime victory on Thursday, the series is tied at two. Saturday’s game five north of the border seems a bit crucial, doesn’t it?

The NCAA will have determined its track and field champions by Sunday as well, with coverage from Eugene – where else? – on ESPN2 Friday (5 p.m. start) and Saturday (6 p.m.). Meanwhile, the organization’s baseball tournament starts today in Omaha – where else? – with two games, Arizona vs. Coastal Carolina (11 a.m.) and Louisville vs. Oregon State (4 p.m.), today and two more, Murray State vs. UCLA (11 a.m.) and LSU vs. Arkansas (4), Saturday. All are on ESPN.

If you love soccer, there is a buffet of options for your viewing pleasure, besides the usual MLS and NWSL matches. The Club World Cup, which pits the top club teams in the world, begins Saturday with Lionel Messi and Inter Miami hosting Cairo, Egypt’s Al Ahly on TBS (5 p.m.). The Sounders begin Sunday (7:15 p.m. on a streaming network I am sure few have, DAZN). That’s not all, though. CONCACAF’s Gold Cup, pitting North America’s best against an occasional outside visitor (this year Saudi Arabia is included), starts Saturday with Mexico and Dominican Republic facing off (7:15 p.m., FS1). The struggling U.S. squad begins Sunday vs. Trinidad and Tobago (3:15, FS1).

Lest we forget, the Mariners are hosting Cleveland all weekend, with all three games on Root. The starting times? Friday, 7:10 p.m., Saturday, 6:40, and Father’s Day, 1:10.

• Yes, I did golf yesterday. Had a goal. Hit one good shot a hole. Or a decent one would suffice. The charity event I was playing in at Circling Raven, raising money for the Believe in Me nonprofit, was a four-person scramble, so one per hole would be just fine.

I did not reach my goal. Though I do believe the nonprofit, which describes itself as “dedicated to empowering marginalized youth through education, mentorship, and community programs,” did. After all, the tournament is built upon buying “cheats,” little advantages like hitting from the forward tee or string that allows teams to count close putts, was won by a group that shot 48-under par.

Ya, you read that right. A 24 on the par-72 course.

Our group, which included my son Tyler and Madison McCord (both former S-R employees) and the newspaper’s current prep editor Dave Nichols, shot 13-under – yes, some of us purchased cheats – and knew we weren’t even going to finish in the top 10.

Like any supporter of an athletic endeavor, Tyler, Madison and I immediately blamed Dave, our captain and fearless leader. But, because we couldn’t afford to buy out his contract, he will be back for another year. But we better win.

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WSU: I always wondered where Daniel Simpson Day ended up. Now I have an idea. If the “Animal House” character needs work, he would make the perfect driver for Washington State’s newest fan-friendly endeavor, bus service to home football games. Greg Woods has the story of the how the transportation from Spokane and the Tri-Cities came together and how it will benefit the Cougars’ NIL efforts. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, what the heck is NIL Go? This Yahoo story explains the new clearinghouse. … The NCAA track and field championships continued in Eugene yesterday. We pass along stories we found from Oregon, Colorado, Colorado State and Utah State. And the most interesting one of all, Washington’s twin sisters and the pole vault title. … On the football front, there is a move afoot to limit the transfer portal window to one period. … Washington, like just about every school, now has a staff solely dedicated to building the roster. … Oregon State’s roster additions are catching the eyes of national pundits. … Colorado has added another running back to its roster. … Just how much of Utah’s defensive production returns for the fall? … Stanford and Cal are trying to adjust to the end of amateur sports. … Former Fresno State quarterback Derek Carr is retiring in his home town. … Colorado State never stops recruiting. … In basketball news, the Big 12 announced its men’s basketball opponents yesterday. We pass along stories from Colorado, Utah, Arizona State and Arizona. … Tommy Lloyd is happy with his roster. … Arizona’s regents approved new women’s basketball coach Becky Burke’s five-year contract. … In baseball news, as we mentioned above, Oregon State begins play in Omaha this afternoon, facing the Louisville Cardinals. It’s a big moment for coach Mitch Canham. … Arizona has been up for each big moment in the march to the World Series. … UCLA, which may have an advantage, doesn’t take the field until Saturday. … Finally, we pass along John Canzano’s column this morning even though it has nothing to do with sports. Just life, you know?

Gonzaga: Rosina Machu earned All-America honors in the women’s 10,000 meters, finishing seventh in the NCAA track and field championships on Thursday. … A high school guard says he has decided to attend GU. … Elsewhere in the WCC, former Saint Mary’s star guard Patty Mills is going to become a college general manager. At the University of Hawaii.

EWU and Idaho: Around the Big Sky, the conference has athletes making noise in the NCAA track and field championships. We have stories from Montana State and Northern Colorado. … How will the House settlement impact Idaho State?

Preps: We passed along a story from the Times yesterday on the WIAA penalizing Seattle’s Roosevelt High and its football coach, former Seahawk Sam Adams, for recruiting violations. It ran in the S-R this morning. … Former Mt. Spokane High star Drew Rasmussen is back from his third elbow surgery and helping the Rays once more.  

Indians: The Northwest League’s first half crown is getting further and further out of reach for Spokane after Thursday’s 10-6 loss to Vancouver in Canada. The Indians trail the first-place Canadians by three games with six to play and have three other teams between them. Dave not only played golf all afternoon, he also covered the game in this story.

UFC: Michael Chiesa is still fighting. And still fighting, by his admission, for his hometown. Charlotte McKinley has a preview of his Saturday bout.

Mariners: Ryan Bliss and Victory Robles have been injured and out for a while, which hasn’t helped the M’s offensive woes. Both are doing whatever they can to get back. But Robles probably won’t play until September and Bliss may not return until next year. But at least Luke Raley is closer, and has started his rehab assignment. … Matt Calkin’s is-it-time-to-panic column ran in the S-R today.

Seahawks: We passed along this story from the Times yesterday. Bob Condotta’s takeaways from minicamp ran in the S-R today. … The offensive line has been, well, subpar recently. The Hawks have a plan to fix it. The plan did not include signing expensive free agents.

Kraken: We mentioned Edmonton’s 5-4 win above. Here is how the Oilers earned it: They trailed 3-0 after one period, led by a goal with less than 20 seconds left, and watched as host Florida tied it. Leon Draisaitl’s goal in overtime ended the rollercoaster ride.

Sonics: The young Thunder face an almost do-or-head-off-to-Cancun moment tonight. They have to come through or the Pacers will have a 3-1 lead. … The teams’ Canadian players, including Gonzaga’s Andrew Nembhard, have come through in this series.

Golf: We checked some scores this morning. Thursday was a tough day for most everyone. Former CCS golfer Brady Calkins was 12-over par. He tees off just before noon today. He will not make the cut. Neither will Justin Hicks, who we highlighted in our column. He finished 14-over. Will Chandler was  in last place as we started to write this morning. He shot a 78 on Thursday – ouch – then began his Friday round with two consecutive double bogeys. Double ouch. Then made an eight on the par-4 third hole. Quadruple ouch. He sits at 20-over as we finish up, which is now five shots ahead of George Duangemanee, who followed up Thursday’s 86 with a triple bogey, a double and three regular-old bogies to start today. … It looks as if the PGA Tour has decided on a CEO.

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• Despite my best mental efforts, Scottie Scheffler hasn’t moved into contention yet. I enjoy watching him compete and was hoping to be able to sit this morning and over the weekend doing just that. But after shooting a 73 Thursday, he is four-over today as I post this. It will take huge Moving Day effort to get him among the leaders for Sunday. If he makes the cut. The same can be said about Rory McIlroy as well. Until later …