Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
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Saturday certainly was a great day in America and locally because football has returned. There were a few college games on TV and I watched bits and pieces of several games. In Ritzville the annual high school football jamboree took place and I took my place on the east end of Jimmie Snider Field holding on to my end of the chain gang. It was a bit breezy at times but the temperatures had fallen enough to make it comfortable for players, fans and 8 referees who were fairly comfortable in their...
I mentioned a few weeks ago that I had read some history about my mom’s family. It is interesting to envision how life was over 100 years ago. Life was certainly not easy especially travel and the comfort of riding in a vehicle with A/C in the summer and heat in the winter was non-existent. I would have to say that those relatives that went before us were certainly a lot tougher than we have become. When I read the family history I saw that my great grandparents and great uncle were buried in O...
There is something in the air this time of year. The baseball season is heating up, pro football is starting its preseason, college football has been practicing for a week and the Washington high school football teams are practicing for the first time today (Wednesday). For baseball the excitement for the most part is in the wild card races. A majority of the first place teams are running away with their division titles by double digit games. But the wild card races make things a bit exciting....
Last week, we lost two major contributors to the sports world — Bill Russell was 88 and Vin Scully was 94. These two gentlemen gave it their all and were respected for it. Russell was recruited by University of San Francisco. While he played there, the Dons won NCAA championships in 1955 and 1956. He would win a gold medal in the 1956 Olympics and be drafted by the Boston Celtics, beginning an epic journey of basketball success. He played 13 seasons for Boston and would win 11 NBA c...
It’s amazing when a person retires and there is a holiday. When I was working, I really looked forward to having the day off. But when you’re retired, it is seemingly just another day like all of the others — except that some businesses are closed and the mail will be a day late. (That’s okay; I’ve adapted quite nicely.) You most likely heard the bombshell that UCLA and USC will be headed to the Big 10 in a couple of years. The payout for the two schools will be $80 million to play in the new 16...
Last year, the NCAA approved student-athletes being able to earn money for their name, image and likeness or NIL. I think that a lot of fans thought it was a good idea since colleges and the NCAA were making huge amounts of money from the big time athletes showing off their talent in playing arenas and stadiums. So, if an athlete makes a few bucks doing a commercial, good for them. With the transfer portal in place — certainly an offshoot of the COVID-19 pandemic — there have been a fair amo...
I’ve applied for several jobs during my long working career. For each job I was interested in, I needed to modify the resume and get new letters of recommendation. Now that I’m retired and doing volunteer work or part-time substitute teaching, having to prove myself or needing someone to vouch for me is something I don’t worry about. But what if you are a former college and professional quarterback that happens to be a bit controversial — like Colin Kaepernick? We all know the story of the forme...
There is an old saying: “You don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone.” W hen it comes to the Undeberg Invitational you could say you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s back — and back it came last Saturday in Ritzville. With 28 teams and Tekoa-Rosalia, among many others — and about 500 athletes, this great track meet was a breath of fresh air starting with a little rain before the meet started and mild temperatures throughout the day with a slight breeze. The last Undeberg Invite was in 201...
This time of year gets interesting for a number of reasons, one of them being the transfer portal. For football, you may see some guy that played in another part of the country and now during spring practice may be the next QB or offensive lineman at your favorite college. But the guy that was your starting QB is now at a rival college using the same transfer mechanism. The transfer portal has been a boon for some schools, while others think of themselves as a farm club training players to find...
Following every season, coaches find themselves either fired, accepting a raise with a couple of years added to their contract or finding the next ideal place to go to. And in a few cases, retirement is the best ending for a long career. I’ve had the opportunity to read about some of the history of assistant coaches that are new hires at the local colleges. Some of these people must be living out of an RV for as many different places they’ve lived. It’s one thing to be able to teach remot...
Last month following a loss to the Wisconsin Badgers, Michigan Head Coach Juwan Howard and Badgers Coach Greg Gard began to argue about a time out that Gard took in the last seconds of their game. This took place as players and coaches were in the ceremonial post game hand shaking line. Players and coaches from both teams converged to the scene and Howard slapped a Wisconsin assistant making things look really bad. Howard would be suspended for several games and a couple of players had to sit...
Each year during the NCAA tournament, I get asked how my bracket is doing. I always answer I don’t do brackets because I would pick teams that I want to win instead of investing time figuring out which team matches up better against an opponent. That’s really time consuming and I wouldn’t enjoy watching the games. I think one of my uncles had the right idea when he bet on a game. He would take the opposing team and let you take the team we both really wanted to win. He said, “If I win the bet I...
The NCAA men’s tournament will be over next Monday and an old champion will once again be crowned as the best in the land. Well, at least the best at the end of the season which is all that matters. The matchups for games dictate so much because each team plays a certain way and you need to adapt or else you will need to catch the next flight back home. As a Gonzaga fan, last Thursday’s game was a real punch to the gut. I’ve been there before seeing a near-perfect team struggle against a more...
The NCAA tournament has gotten to be my source for reality TV because it is real. There are no scripts to follow. Sure, there are game plans but the other team may mess up those really good ones and all of a sudden the team has to ad lib. And don't forget the emotions. We've seen how being a high seed may not mean much. Kentucky, a number 2 seed gets beat in the first round by 15 seed St. Peter's. It took overtime but overtime should have favored UK but it didn't. By the way, St. Peter's...