Mea Culpa

The first thing I need to do is apologize for something I said in the column last week about Root Sports. Evidently the information I received second or third hand was not right. Root has not been purchased by another satellite provider. It seems that the provider that we have chosen has not been able to come to terms with Root Sports. I want to say that I am sorry for the confusion and misinformation that I put in the column a week ago. But if that is the worst thing I did last week then I probably had a pretty good week. Again Mea Culpa. My bad! I will try to do better in the future.

So the second thing I need to apologize for is for saying anything about the Mariners having success. I’ve done it before and it almost acts like a jinx for some reason. The Mariners go into the All-Star game with a 14 game winning streak and upon their return All-Star rookie Julio Rodriguez is hurt and can’t play against Houston. The M’s then get swept by the Astros. With Houston taking a doubleheader from the Yankees on Thursday their lead over the Mariners went from 9 to 13 games. Okay, I will let the Seattle nine just go about their business as if I’m not paying any attention at all.

It’s getting hot again and harvest is just getting started. The summer sports leagues and tournaments are winding down and the first high school football and volleyball practice is less than a month away. There is always something to do in a small town and I’ve been busy with my little projects. Try to get one thing done each day and it is surprising how much that can be accomplished in a few days or weeks.

I have noticed how much the newspaper in the community northeast of here is trying to find any kind of sports to talk about just to get through the week. A lot of times the information is historical and a bit interesting but without football and basketball to talk about we are trying to figure out what the Pac-12, 10 or 8 will be doing in a couple of years. This will certainly be a challenge for the commissioner and the school presidents to work on. I have always heard that when looking for other schools to persuade to join a league they look at the success of men’s football and basketball. Apparently now it is all about population in the area for advertising purposes during television broadcasts.

If it would come down to success for football and basketball I would think that San Diego State and Boise State would be good choices to join the Pac fill in the number. However, others think that Fresno State would be a better choice because of population. Still others think that a Texas team or two should be part of the conference. Whatever they decide will need to be researched to come up with the best plan that will save the conference for the remaining 10 teams. I would hate to see the worst case scenario.

As for me I will be with my buddy Ken at the Roos watching EWU play for a spot in the FCS playoffs. We know money is tight and we know we need to win the conference title or else eight games to make the playoffs. There are no bowl bids going out for a minimum of six games like the FBS gets so any loss at the wrong time of the season may mean no playoffs. The Eagles have had great success over the years but were still kept out of the playoff picture with seven wins. I guess that’s why I like the FCS so much. You need to earn your way into post season play. If you’re lucky you get a week off before playing your first game. If not the first round is one week after the season finale.

I hope you are having a good summer and that you are staying cool. Again please accept my apologies for jumping to conclusions but it’s the highest I’ve jumped in several years.