A Grip on Sports: The near-term future is cloudy, which seems appropriate considering it’s hard to decipher what the heck is going on in the world
A GRIP ON SPORTS • Here we are in the middle of the week and all we see ahead is … rain? There is a greater-than-not chance Spokane’s Saturday and Sunday will be wet. Cool. After a week stuck in an office, this is the reward? Seems about right considering what’s happened already this week.
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• There’s no need to delve into world news to make that last sentence true, though it bolsters the case. All one has to do is just cover the sports news from Florida to San Francisco, from Indiana through Omaha to, yes, the local scene.
As my mom used to say – though I think she may have been quoting someone – the last shall be first, which is why I’ll start in the Palouse. That’s where Washington State still has not explained the whys and wherefores behind its decision to ax parts of its track and field program.
Denied on that front, former Spokesman-Review columnist John Blanchette reached out to former WSU track athletes and coaches, including Cougar Hall of Fame member John Chaplin, for their thoughts on the reduction in force. As one would expect, no one is happy. And they fear this is just the first spike to drop, not just in Pullman but for Olympic sports around the nation.
It’s just another, though less-heralded, step in college athletics’ evolution.
• Another one is going on in Sacramento, California’s capitol city. The flagship university there, Sacramento State, has made it clear it wants to jump into a much bigger pool than its current FCS pond. An NCAA committee, which still has a say in who can swim in the FBS’ deep waters, took a dim view of the Hornets’ plans recently, recommending the school’s request for a quicker path be denied due to the lack of an FBS conference extending an invitation.
It seems the Mountain West, which is casting a wide net to replace the five schools headed to the Pac-12, isn’t trying to lure Sac State at all, forcing the school to announce plans to play as an FBS independent when it does get approval to move up.
But that doesn’t mean the school is staying in the Big Sky Conference. A Sacramento TV station reported Tuesday the school would join the Big West, a non-football conference, July 1, 2026 for every sport but football.
• The Florida Panthers extended Canada’s national nightmare one more year.
It’s been since 1993 a team based in the country has won the Stanley Cup, a streak that Edmonton has tried to break in each of the last two NHL finals – only to fall to the Panthers in South Florida.
Tuesday night’s 5-1 win tarnished a little what had been an exceptional series featuring overtimes and comebacks. The clinching win was more of the mundane variety, with Florida scoring early, often and easily. More accurately, Sam Reinhart did, with four goals. The winger needed less than five minutes to put the puck past Stuart Skinner the first time, continuing a series trend. Florida outscored the Oilers 13-4 in the opening 20 minutes of the six games.
• If you don’t root for the Mariners and wonder why their fans seem so deflated each year as the trade deadline nears, look no further than a deal made by another West Coast team this week.
Like the M’s, San Francisco needed another bat. Like the M’s, the Giants had pieces to dangle. And, unlike Seattle, a willingness to spend money. On an iffy long-term proposition that holds the promise of short-term success.
Rafael Devers, and the eight years and $250 million left on his 10-year, $313.5-million contract, was available. The 28-year-old is a bona fide slugger. A guy who could be worth two or three wins down the stretch – a number that could make the difference between the postseason or another year of an early M’s offseason.
But there is no way Seattle would take on his deal, one that could be a financial strain in its final few years. The Giants, who have won three World Series since the M’s last got within a sniff of the big dance? They pulled the trigger.
• Indiana loves its basketball. Loves the Pacers, though they are down 3-2 in the NBA finals to Oklahoma City. Loves Caitlin Clark and the Fever, even more so when it looks as if the star is being mistreated by the officials. Or the opponent, both of which they felt was happening Tuesday night.
The Fever routed Connecticut 88-71 to earn a spot in the WNBA’s Commissioner Cup finals but it was the extracurriculars (technical, flagrant fouls, ejections) that dominated social media and SportsCenter, not Clark’s 20 points and six assists.
• Baseball’s College World Series is still going on. Four teams are left. But none of them are West Coast based. The final Pac-12 – legacy or current – schools were eliminated Tuesday. Both Oregon State, which lost 7-6 to Louisville, and UCLA, which lost in the morning and night to LSU and Arkansas, respectively, were done in by the lack of a clutch hit or two.
The silver lining? It frees ups TV time this weekend.
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WSU: We linked John’s story above and here as well. In that small world sort of way, John Chaplin’s brother Mike was a good friend of my father’s in his later years, long after John had retired from Washington State. … What is it we say, almost every day this time of year? Oh, yes. Football recruiting never stops. Greg Woods has this story on the latest recruit, safety Matthew McClain, to announce he’s headed to Pullman in 2026. He’s the 15th player to make the same pledge. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, college football has a lot of problems. One of them is poor officiating. Another is enforcement of the House settlement parameters. And another is the inability to come up with a playoff format for 2026 and beyond. … Christian Caple takes a stab at divvying out post-House settlement money to Washington’s roster. And the Times takes a look at the athletic department’s budget. … Utah State is moving up. So are the Aggies’ ticket prices. … Arizona State returns one of the nation’s best quarterbacks. … Colorado State continues to add recruits. So does Arizona, who has a key contributor to the process working in the background. … In baseball news, we linked some of the Oregon State stories above. We have a couple more to pass along here. … San Diego State has hired a new baseball coach, naming Arizona’s pitching coach to the position. … In basketball news, Jon Wilner has a look at the Big 12, post NBA-draft deadline, in the Mercury News.
EWU: Yes, Efton Chism III, an undrafted free agent, turned heads in New England’s summer workouts. But will the Eastern record holder make the team? … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, a former Montana State player joining the Montana women’s basketball coaching staff? Is that allowed? … The Idaho State softball coach has signed a contract extension. … Montana football shows recruiting never stops. … Same with UC Davis. … We linked a bunch of Sacramento State stories above, just in case you missed them.
Indians: Seven consecutive losses are never a good thing. But that’s where Spokane is at after Tuesday’s homestand-opening 5-1 loss to Everett. Dave Nichols was at Avista Stadium and has this coverage as the Northwest League’s first half winds down.
Mariners: Cal Raleigh hit a grand slam in the second inning. Bryan Woo pitched seven shutout innings and the M’s routed the Devers-less Red Sox 8-0. It was Seattle’s fourth win in five days.
Kraken: New coach Lane Lambert has filled out his coaching staff. … We have more stories on the Stanley Cup finals to pass along.
Sonics: Jalen Williams is one of those overnight stars that took a few years to develop. The Thunder is happy his emergence is happening now.
Storm: Though Kelsey Plum was out, the Storm’s 98-67 rout of the Los Angeles Sparks was still quite impressive. Gabby Williams was impressive defensively, with a franchise-record eight steals. And Nneka Ogwumike was impressive offensively, with a season-high 26 points. … The game in Indiana? It is symptomatic of a huge problem for the WNBA.
Seahawks: Richard Sherman was pulled over and cited for DUI in 2024. He was finally charged yesterday. Talk about justice being blind. It also seems to be unable to move beyond a crawl. … We can pass along some questions to ponder heading into the lull before training camp opens.
Sounders: International fans in town for the Club World Cup bring a different vibe to Seattle pro soccer.
Golf: The PGA Tour officially has new leadership. Maybe that means there will be some sort of reconciliation with the LIV folks?
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• One nice thing about sports. No matter how awful the news may be, whether it be financial or just your favorite team losing, it’s not really life or death – despite the way such analogies are thrown around. No matter what, sports can still serve as an oasis away from the hot sands of world news. And boy is that needed today. Until later …