Serving Franklin County, WA
Serving Franklin County, WA
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 69
It is hard to fathom what all happened last week. We know that the UW Huskies were humbled by the Michigan Wolverines. I was looking forward to a good game. I started listening to the game when it was in the second quarter and the score was 17-3. I had other things going on at the time and when I got the game on the radio in my car it was a shock. The game was played on Wolverine terms and the Huskies could never get over the hump and get close enough to make it a good game. A...
It is hard to predict what type of team that the Eastern Washington Eagles will field each season especially with the transfer portal changing rosters all over the country. The Eagles have lost a few players in the last few years because of it and some really good ones too. Some have made good decisions while a few others have had trouble finding playing time or maybe they have had trouble adjusting to the new coach. When Shantay Legens left for Portland after a Big Sky...
I remember growing up that a person could stop at a gas station and pick up a map of most nearby states or the city they were in if it was a large one. Whenever we travelled my dad would always plan the trip with the use of a map, and he could fold them back into place. He had a bunch of maps from all over and I can’t tell you what happened to them but they are long gone. He did interest me into the use of maps and I can honestly say that as long as I used a map I didn’t get l...
It certainly was a wild weekend for college football. Of course, if everything would have played out according to who was favored then we wouldn’t have such a controversial final four that was chosen by the committee on Sunday. But, as they say, that is why you play the game. Friday night the final Pac 12 championship game was played and it was a great game. Washington beat Oregon by three for the second time this season and since they had already been a part of the chosen four during the week they were certain to be in the t...
Before I get into this week’s sports update, let me wish all of you faithful readers of this column a very Happy Thanksgiving. And may I remind you to not eat too much — but definitely enough — and enjoy family and friends on this holiday. There will be some pretty good games to watch, Be sure you enjoy them and don’t get wrapped up in the winning and losing. Let that part of the game bother the coaches and the players. As fans, we really don’t have a lot to do with the final...
There were a couple of interesting events that took place following Saturday’s college football games. On Sunday, Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher was fired after a 51-10 shellacking of Mississippi State. And the Mississippi State coach also lost his job. Closer to home Boise State also let their coach go and he was a former BSU Bronco player First of all let’s just say that coaches are fired a lot and this far into the season usually means that the donors, fans and alumni are...
Well, it looks like the last of the warm weather will be leaving us until spring. We always seem surprised, but we shouldn’t be. Once October is past the midway point, we should expect the warmth of the sun to go away. Oh sure, we’ll have a day or two that will be enjoyable. But for the most part, it’s time to find a jacket to wear or reacquaint yourself to the layered look. We will soon be watching the World Series. By the time you read this, the teams should be decid...
Around about this time of the football season many teams have a bye or are coming off a bye week. The long 11-12 game seasons call for a break to heal up and catch your breath. This also allows coaching staffs to go on the road and recruit high school and Junior College athletes in order to fill vacancies in next year’s roster. Kids graduate or injuries will knock out a quality athlete but the position needs a replacement National signing day has become a big deal where a 4-5...
I have a few things to talk about after this past weekend. First off, I went to Cheney on Saturday and watched a highly entertaining game between EWU and Idaho. A few years ago when Idaho came back to the Big Sky Conference the powers that be made Idaho and Montana yearly foes because of a suspected rivalry. EWU and Montana had a great rivalry going but the Big Sky said no you get to play Montana State and Portland State each year. Now Idaho has a really good team. Fans in...
We are a couple of weeks into the football and volleyball season and fans can start to see where the experienced teams are and where those that maybe rebuilding will eventually end up. For those rebuilding it is a long road and finding the talent and willingness to make that journey means commitment by young athletes that want to be successful. There is something else that happens this time of year that also takes commitment and time constraints. That would be the late season...
On Halloween day in 1992 my brother Larry and I went to the UW-Stanford football game in Seattle. I could get complimentary tickets as a coach and let’s just say that Larry was my assistant coach for a day Anyway the plan was to park in Bellevue at a Park and Ride and get on the bus to go to Husky Stadium. After we got off the bus and were walking to the Will Call ticket booth we couldn’t help but notice just how much purple surrounded us. If Barney the dinosaur would have got...
I watched some of the Major League baseball draft live from Lumen Field in Seattle on Sunday. It was interesting to see how many high school seniors were drafted. I’m sure that a fair amount of them will turn pro and learn more about playing baseball for a living and polish up their game at spring training facilities or at the Class A level around the country. There will be some who will begin their college careers in hopes of learning from some great coaches and facilities i...
I watched some of the Major League baseball draft live from Lumen Field in Seattle on Sunday. It was interesting to see how many high school seniors were drafted. I’m sure that a fair amount of them will turn pro and learn more about playing baseball for a living and polish up their game at spring training facilities or at the Class A level around the country. There will be some who will begin their college careers in hopes of learning from some great coaches and facilities i...
There were a couple of baseball games played last week that were significant because of the amount of runs scored by one of the teams. In the Major Leagues, the Los Angeles Angels unloaded on the Colorado Rockies in Denver, 25-1, with a barrage of home runs. Certainly, a laugher if you are an Angels fan. If Colorado is your team and you only get to see one game a year and this was it, then it couldn’t have been a lot of fun for the price of admission. I remember several y...
I met Kenny G several years ago at the Big Sky Track championship in Cheney through a mutual friend. Throughout the day we conversed about EWU football and his time there in the early 1960s. We became fast friends as they say and have watched a lot of Eastern Washington University games together. Ken told a bunch of stories about his high school days in Othello. Since I told him I was from Ritzville he had to tell me the story of his prowess as a middle linebacker and the day...
We all get asked about sports. Can you compare this guy’s game from a bunch of years ago with this youngster’s game? So, if you go back 50-plus years, you would see there wasn’t much weight work. But then, there weren’t that many state tournaments either. With some sports not having any playoffs, a team’s only claim to fame was to win the league championship. It wasn’t until Title IX came into effect in 1973 that state championship competition expanded in the state. We a...
In a month from now school will be out and the Lind Combine Derby weekend will bring a bunch of crash test dummies to town. We still have some spring sports to follow before the final state contests take place on Memorial Day weekend. Unfortunately the LRS baseball team was eliminated this past Thursday. The team had a so-so season but this group of seniors have had a pretty good year with a successful football season and a berth at state for the basketball team with a 5th...
Last week I talked about some of the changes that were made to the game of baseball in order to speed it up a bit. But I left out a couple of big changes that really need to be mentioned. One of the changes concerns the pitcher when there is a runner on base, mostly first base. The pitcher is now limited to make two throws over to first to keep the runner close especially if he is a base stealer. Now the pitcher can throw over a third time but he needs the first baseman to...
The basketball tournaments are over and we local fans should be happy that our teams played on for a while. Getting to playoff time is always fun. We get to brag about our team and watch them play in different venues against new opponents. The Broncos had a great year and their late season rally and defensive prowess was something to be proud of. I know a lot of fans love to watch the up and down the court pressing and fast breaks but late in the season that isn’t easy to d...
So we are down to our final two weeks of college basketball. I’m kind of a basketball junky. I love the high school playoffs and tournaments followed by the college conference tournaments and then of course March Madness. While many people will follow their team and could care less about watching any other team I love to watch the different teams, players and coaching styles. I’m not sure why but I can be watching a game and immediately start wanting one of the teams to win. I...
On Sunday the brackets for the 2023 NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournament were announced. This year’s tournament will have the Gonzaga men and women and the Pac 12 women’s tournament champion WSU Cougars in the mix. I have had the opportunity to see a couple of men’s regionals and one women’s regional final and one NCAA men’s championship game. For all of the years that I have watched the tournament on TV it is really special to get to watch the games live. The NCA...
Congratulations to Jay Humphrey on his retirement from coaching, hopefully after the State 2A tournament in March. I’ve watched Jay coach on more than one occasion and he certainly had his passion for the game that he learned from his dad, Denny. I have fond memories of Jay’s time as a Bronco shooting guard in the days before the 3-point line was established. Jay had a really nice shot and could make things miserable for his opponent. Our paths crossed on several occasions, us...
I have a tendency to look at the scores of games that were played the day before and try to imagine what made the game unique. Was a close game close from start to finish, or just in the last few minutes or the last quarter? For instance, last Saturday, the Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Broncos defeated the Okanogan Bulldogs, 50-48. In the first half, the Broncos had trouble finding their shooting range and only scored 15 points, which is not a lot for them. The Bulldogs scored 26...
I have a few things to talk about today so bear with me. A couple of days ago I was driving on the freeway where doesn’t really matter. Anyway I was in the left lane and there were cars coming off the exit into the right lane. I needed to be in the right lane so I speeded up and at the right time I moved over. The car that I moved in front of decided to get into the left lane and would sling shot into that lane. As he moved passed me I noticed that the passenger side of t...
I’ve seen a few Sci-Fi movies about time travel and how someone can change history. But, of course, we really can’t and neither can the folks in the movies. I look at time travel and think where has the year gone now that we are near the end of 2022? To me that seems really fast but a minute or an hour haven’t gotten any faster it just seems that they have. We get up in the morning and splash some water on our faces and the next thing we know is that we are splashing water on...