A Grip on Sports: Another trip cements the idea the best place to live for a sports fan is on the West Coast
A GRIP ON SPORTS • Where were we? Wondering about what’s going to happen in New Jersey this afternoon, sure. And on the coast of England this morning. Though the biggest wonderment of all is how the M’s are going to win the A.L. West. Or if they will.
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• The summer romance America has experienced with the World Cup ends today. The final between defending champion Argentina and reigning Euro champion Spain kicks off on Fox at noon. By 12:30, newbie soccer watchers, of which this country probably has a few, will realize the pace of Saturday’s 6-4 English win in the third-place match was an aberration.
Less on the line. Fewer challenges. More fun.
No matter. Lionel Messi will be playing. So will Europe’s best team. And one, the one trying to ensure Messi can’t win the tournament’s Golden Boot, also features the world’s most-connected defense. That last fact makes us think the Cup will return one more time to the continent that invented the sport.
• Speaking of England, it’s too bad Rory McIlory and Bryson DeChambeau were not paired Saturday. Or in this Sunday’s Open final round. Even in the hottest part of England’s summer, the icy nature of their relationship would be TV at its finest.
The two don’t like each other much. Which is good for golf. Conflict always is a great way to build ratings. And storylines.
You know what isn’t good for a game that relies, for the most part, on self-policing, even at its highest level? When one of its most-popular players, DeChambeau, obviously tries to improve his chances to win by improving his ball’s lie in the junk that surrounds Royal Birkdale. And then acts indignant when he’s called on it.
That happened Friday. Shared with the world on the broadcast. Made every player at the Open wait as DeChambeau stomped around like a spoiled child after he was caught on video stomping down the high grass behind his wayward ball.
The deserved two-stroke penalty, made official after DeChambeau argued against it on world-wide TV, might have put a crimp in the hope LIV’s last star to win the year’s final major. Though his partner on the course Saturday, Sam Burns, had more to do with it. The American shot a five-under 65 and leads by two heading into today’s final round.
DeChambeau? He’s four-off Burns’ 10-under pace. The world’s two best, McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler, are non-factors. Scheffler scuffled through an even-par 70 yesterday and is six back. McIlroy entered Sunday eight behind.
• Now to the Mariners, whose spirit guide returned to the lineup Saturday night.
Julio Rodriguez missed quite a bit of time around the All-Star break after being forced to the injured list with a concussion. Like the rest of his teammates, he didn’t have much success against the Giants’ Logan Webb through the first six innings.
Cole Young, however, changed all that in the seventh with a three-run home run. Gave the M’s a chance, one Rodriguez finally cashed in, though it took an extra inning – and a Colt Emerson diving stop to make it worthwhile.
Emerson’s defensive play keyed Jose A. Ferrer’s scoreless top of the 10th. Rodriguez’ sacrifice fly, which scored Victor Robles, gave them a 4-3 victory.
Allowed Seattle, still a game under .500, to stay within 1½ games of the frontrunning Rangers. And kept them within a game of the red-hot Red Sox for the final wild card spot.
The latter certainly wasn’t the goal when the season began. And shouldn’t be even now. But in a year in which the offense has been as sporadic as new third baseman Brendan Donovan’s playing time, it may be the best the team can do.
• One final thought. We spent a couple summers in the South. The hills of eastern Tennessee, actually. And suffered through the humidity. Forgot what it is like, though. Time, and decades of Inland Northwest summers, sweated it from our memory.
It came back quickly Saturday. We’re in the upper South, on the western part of the Eastern time zone. Where walking around means wading through thick air. And watching sports on TV means impossibly late nights. Especially when games are on the best coast.
That’s our long-winded way of saying pulling up the M’s game story this morning was a pleasant surprise.
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WSU: Want another out-of-the blue surprise? The subject of today’s feature from Greg Woods. He traces the path from Whitworth to the NFL for Washington State basketball coach David Riley’s brother, Noah. The end result shouldn’t come as much surprise. Both brothers share part of their linage with Mike Riley, the former Oregon State and Nebraska coach. But the way Noah got into coaching, as Greg lays out, isn’t all that usual. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12, Jon Wilner has a column in the S-R about the Protect College Sports Act and what it may mean for Washington State and other schools like it. … He also has his weekly mailbag in the Mercury News. … John Canzano has a notebook on his website. … Former Colorado State football coach Leon Fuller has died. … Around the West Coast and the nation, the Colorado men will play a tough nonconference basketball schedule. … Why didn’t Utah remodel the Huntsman Center earlier? … California’s football team has shored up its roster.
Gonzaga: Theo Lawson has a couple more stories from Las Vegas, including this interesting one on Jalen Worley’s decision to bypass more-concrete offers to sign with an organization, Indiana, that seemed a better fit. … The NBA’s Summer League semifinals dominated Saturday and they were, in turn, dominated by local players. Graham Ike had a double-double as the Warriors’ group eliminated Anton Watson’s Laker team. Waiting in tonight’s title game? That would be Memphis after former EWU and WSU standout Cedric Coward keyed a win over Houston with 28 points.
EWU and Idaho: Around the Big Sky, Northern Arizona has a player on the Walter Payton preseason watch list. … Portland State will face an early season challenge in Eugene.
Indians: Spokane moved back atop the Northwest League’s second-half standings alone with a 6-5 10-inning win over visiting Everett at Avista. Dave Nichols has the game story from Saturday night. … Former Indian (and Zag) Gabriel Hughes had another solid start for Colorado in another Rocky defeat.
Velocity: Spokane seems to have gotten its mojo back. The Velocity won a second-consecutive match, topping the Richmond Kickers 2-0 on the road Saturday.
Seahawks: The rookie class is not large this season.
Mariners: Yes, the M’s won last night. But Cal Raleigh once again struggled in a season filled with them. He talked about how tough it’s been to follow his career-best year with maybe his worst.
Reign: Seattle led with an early goal, but host Gotham roared back late for the win.
Storm: Another loss, this one to Caitlin Clark and the host Fever, keeps Seattle scare in the middle of the race to earn the WNBA’s top draft spot. Where JuJu Watkins might be the prize.
Golf: Once again Andrew Von Lossow is atop the Rosauers Open Invitational leaderboard. The Spokane amateur took the lead heading into today’s final round at Indian Canyon. Jim Meehan has more in this story.
Motorsports: NASCAR great Kevin Harvick is two-for-two. Harvick won the Idaho 200 at Stateline Speedway on Saturday night after winning his Stateline debut last month.
Track and field: There once was a time when the world record in the mile was considered one of the top feats in our sports culture. But the race is rarely run these days – metric distances are the world’s standard – and the record hasn’t been the same this century. Until Scotland’s Josh Kerr took to a London track Saturday. Less than 4 minutes later, Hicham El Guerrouj’s 27-year-old record was gone, wiped out by Kerr’s 3:42.66 blitz, almost a second faster than the long-standing mark.
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• Yes, we’re in the Eastern time zone. Which means our report will be up early the next few days. And might miss a couple items. But we’ll play catchup tomorrow. Until later …
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• Photos: The Spokesman-Review, Getty Images, Tribune News Service